All to know about the Ballon d’Or awards ۲۰۲۶

The Ballon d’Or, football’s most prestigious individual honour, will be awarded on Monday, with Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe among the frontrunners in the men’s category and Spain’s Alexia Putellas the favourite to pick the women’s award for the third time.

Given to the best player of the ۲۰۲۵-۲۶ season, the upcoming ceremony will mark the award’s ۷۰th edition, and the first time it is held outside France.

Ahead of Monday’s official gala, here’s everything to know about the award, its history and more:

What is the Ballon d’Or?

The Ballon d’Or is the highest individual award given to a footballer, based on his or her performance in the previous season.

The award was created in ۱۹۵۶ by two sports writers, Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran, from France Football, a French magazine.

Originally, the men’s award was limited to European players, but in ۱۹۹۵ it was expanded to include all players of any origin active at European clubs. Finally, in ۲۰۰۷, it became a global award with all professional footballers being eligible.

The women’s Ballon d’Or started in ۲۰۱۸ when Ada Hegerberg was named the inaugural winner.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and Groupe Amaury – owners of France Football and L’Equipe – have co-organised the Ballon d’Or since the ۲۰۲۴ edition.

Who decides the Ballon d’Or winner?

The winner is chosen by an international jury of specialised journalists, with one representative per country: the top ۱۰۰ nations according to the FIFA rankings for the men’s award, and the top ۵۰ for the women’s award.

The FIFA ranking used is the one in effect at the time the nominee lists were published, which in this case was on September ۸, ۲۰۲۶.

How does the voting work?

Each jury member selects ۱۰ players in descending order of merit from a ۳۰-player shortlist.

The list is then compiled by the editorial staff of France Football, members of L’Equipe’s editorial team, at least one member of the previous edition’s jury, and UEFA ambassadors Luis Figo and Fabio Capello for the men’s trophy, and Nadine Kessler for the women’s trophy.

The ۱۰ selected players receive ۱۵, ۱۲, ۱۰, ۸, ۷, ۵, ۴, ۳, ۲, and ۱ point respectively, based on the order of their rankings in the voting.

In the end, the Ballon d’Or is awarded to the player with the highest overall score.

What’s the voting criteria?

Players are judged for their performances over the whole of last season. For this year’s award, the timeline is from August ۳, ۲۰۲۵, until July ۱۹, ۲۰۲۶.

Jurors are asked to take three factors into consideration when ranking players. The Ballon d’Or regulations list the following in order of importance:

1. Individual performances, decisive and impressive character
2. Collective performances and titles won
3. Class and fair play

Who is the favourite to win?

In the men’s category, England’s captain Kane, who scored an incredible ۷۳ goals last season, is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the Ballon d’Or. As of Sunday, he holds about ۷۰ percent of the market share.

Kane was the Bundesliga’s top scorer for the third year running and also earned a second European Golden Shoe. The ۳۳-year-old won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and led England to a third-place finish at the ۲۰۲۶ FIFA World Cup.

Frenchman Mbappe, who won the Golden Boot at the World Cup and set an all-time goals record, is the second favourite, followed by teenage winger Lamine Yamal, who was part of Spain’s world title-winning squad.

The men’s ۳۰-player star-studded shortlist also features Argentina’s ۲۰۲۲ World Cup winner Lionel Messi and the last two Ballon d’Or recipients, Ousmane Dembele and Rodri.

Who could win the Ballon d’Or Feminin?

For the women’s Ballon d’Or, Spain captain Alexia Putellas is the frontrunner after leading her previous club Barcelona to quadruple glory, which included the Liga F and Women’s Champions League crowns.

Putellas, who won the Ballon d’Or in ۲۰۲۱ and ۲۰۲۲, is hoping to match teammate and reigning winner Aitana Bonmati’s record of three trophies.

Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw, the Women’s Super League top scorer for a third campaign in a row, Barca’s Ewa Pajor, the women’s UCL top scorer, and Lyon’s Melchie Dumornay, who won a domestic treble, are also in the running.

Where and when is the Ballon d’Or ceremony?

The ۲۰۲۶ Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held at the London Palladium on Monday, October ۲۶, marking the first time it is being held in Britain.

Organisers said the decision to move the ceremony away from France, its usual host country, was made to pay tribute to the ۱۹۵۶ inaugural Ballon d’Or winner, England’s Stanley Matthews.

The red carpet will begin at ۱۸:۰۰ GMT and last for about an hour and a half.

It will be followed by the official ceremony at ۲۰:۰۰ GMT. France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry and sports journalist Kate Scott will be the cohosts.

US rapper French Montana and English singer Jorja Smith will perform at the gala.

Where can I watch the ceremony and follow it online?

Al Jazeera Sport will have live coverage of the awards ceremony from ۱۷:۰۰ GMT.

DAZN will livestream the ceremony for free in most countries. Also, viewers in France can watch the ceremony on L’Equipe TV, while Telefonica will televise it in Spain.

Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has a record eight Ballon d’Or awards in his trophy cabinet. He also holds the record for the most consecutive wins (four), taking the trophy home in ۲۰۰۹-۲۰۱۲.

His longtime rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, is second on the list, with five Ballon d’Ors.

France and Paris Saint-Germain forward Dembele won the ۲۰۲۵ Ballon d’Or, while Spain’s captain Rodri was the ۲۰۲۴ winner.

Which other awards are given at the Ballon d’Or?

A total of ۱۳ awards will be presented on Monday, including the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Ors.

• Men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or
• Men’s and women’s Kopa Trophy (for U-۲۱ players)
• Men’s and women’s Yashin Trophy (for best goalkeeper)
• Men’s and women’s Gerd Muller Trophy (for best striker)
• Men’s and women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy (for best coach)
• Men’s and women’s Club of the Year
• Socrates Award (for humanitarian work, charity projects, and social solidarity initiatives)