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The Ballon d'Or, awarded by France Football magazine since 1956, is soccer's most prestigious individual award. |
The selection process: Shortly after announcing the 30 nominees for the 2025 Ballon d'Or, France Football magazine, the award's organizer, detailed its selection process.
The magazine stated that beyond 20 obvious names, there are always around 15 cases that require deliberation and sometimes difficult decisions. In addition to individual performance and team achievements, the organizers also consider playing position, club, and league to ensure soccer's diversity is represented.
"Rest assured, this list isn't decided in five minutes on the corner of a table between just a few insiders," the announcement humorously added. "Our editorial team, members of L’Equipe's soccer department – certainly not the rugby or swimming departments – are involved in this process. As much as we love them, we don't want to see Antoine Dupont or Leon Marchand (famous French rugby and swimming athletes) among the 30 nominees. Also included is at least one member of the Ballon d'Or international jury, and this year – continuing the tradition of involving former stars as in previous years – we have Luis Figo, the 2000 winner, and Fabio Capello, the Champions League winning coach with AC Milan in 1994".
The renowned French magazine continued, "Having an international perspective is always good to avoid a narrow, French-centric view. In total, 14 people participated in creating the list for this 69th Ballon d'Or. Each person submits a list of 30 players, 10 young talents for the Kopa Trophy, 10 goalkeepers for the Yashin Trophy, 5 coaches for the Johan Cruyff Trophy, and the best clubs of the season. Then, they simply count the votes and meet to make the final decision. However, no two lists are ever exactly alike, and debates often become lively when a player approaches the halfway mark. Now, everything is ready for the voting round, leading up to the awards ceremony on 22/9 in Paris, where complete gender equality will be achieved in all award categories for the first time."
Who votes and what are the criteria? The 2025 Ballon d'Or will be awarded on 22/9. But how is the winner chosen? Who votes, and what are the evaluation criteria?
There are three criteria, prioritized in descending order for the judges to consider. The first is individual performance, decisiveness, and impact. The second is collective performance, achievements, and titles won. Lastly, style and fair play are taken into account.
The voters, or the jury, are soccer journalists. 100 journalists vote for the men's Ballon d'Or and 50 for the women's. Each country in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (top 50 for women) has a representative journalist to vote for the world's most prestigious individual soccer award.
Each journalist selects their top 10 from the 30 nominees, with each position awarding corresponding points: 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point, respectively, based on their ranking from 1 to 10 on the ballot.
Once all journalists have submitted their top 10 selections, the points are tallied. The male and female players with the highest total points win the Ballon d'Or. The remaining players are ranked from second to 30th.
If players have the same number of points, they are ranked based on the number of first-place votes. If still tied, the number of second-place votes is used, and so on. Any disputes regarding the voting process are decided by the editor-in-chief of France Football, as the organizer and chair of the council.
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Lionel Messi shows off the 2023 Ballon d'Or to Inter Miami fans during his celebration at DRV PNK Stadium on 10/11/2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. *Photo: AFP* |
Insider perspectives: In late October 2024, before the Ballon d'Or was awarded to midfielder Rodri, journalist Alfredo Relano, former editor-in-chief of the sports daily AS and a long-time voting representative for Spain, wrote a short article in El Pais about France Football's award voting regulations.
Veteran journalist Relano emphasized: "30 nominees is a broad enough number to ensure that no real contender is excluded. My influence on the final result isn't significant because we have 100 judges, despite many believing it's absurd to choose the best player in a team sport, or those who maliciously think the award is influenced by brands, clubs, or even politicians."
"Personally, I've never received any suggestions, and I believe the same is true for the other 99. We're only asked not to reveal our votes until the results are announced, which I understand is to avoid influencing opinions. The results are only known when everyone knows. After the award is presented, France Football publishes each individual's vote, so anyone wanting to delve deeper can calculate and dismiss the idea that the results are predetermined."
Relano also mentioned that not every journalist can fully cover all leagues, as attention is primarily focused on major competitions, major national leagues, and the final stages of tournaments like the Champions League, Euro, Copa America, or the World Cup, if applicable.
"In that sense, players from big clubs and national teams have an advantage. Simultaneously belonging to a strong club and a strong national team is beneficial. And individuality also plays an important role. I think in 2010, the similar playing styles of Iniesta and Xavi split the votes, benefiting Messi, who ultimately won. Players capable of unexpected, technically brilliant, and beautiful plays also have an advantage," Relano observed.
Finally, he shared: "Always wanting to be thorough, I usually ask about 10 friends whose opinions I particularly respect for their voting perspectives. I'm not referring to casual acquaintances, but colleagues with extensive knowledge of international soccer or experts in the field. And there are differences, sometimes quite significant. So it's not surprising that the final results spark heated debates."
A different system for the Kopa Trophy: While the Yashin Trophy, Johan Cruyff Trophy, and the best club of the season award (men's and women's) are voted on by the same panel of judges as the men's and women's Ballon d'Or, the Kopa Trophy, for the best U21 player, is different.
Instead of journalists, a jury of former men's Ballon d'Or winners votes for the best young talent of the season. Only 10 male and 5 female players are nominated, and each judge submits a ranking of three positions. Each position awards a certain number of points, and the player with the highest total wins the Kopa Trophy.
In the women's category, the voters include former women's Ballon d'Or winners and those who have finished in the top three since 2018, the year the women's Ballon d'Or was established.
Hoang Thong