The organisers of the Ballon d’Or award, France Football, have shifted the annual period of the award ceremony from the usual November/December to October.
This was made known via a tweet on the Ballon d’Or verified Twitter handle on Friday night.
The organisers of the annual award announced that the 2022 edition of the award ceremony will take place in October, adding that the performance of footballers, which determines the nominees, would no longer be viewed from January to December.
They noted that the award will henceforth be presented on the basis of a classic football season, which is from August to July.
The organisers further stated that the jury that selects the winner will be reduced, noting that only the representatives of the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings for the men’s award and the first 50 for the women’s will be permitted to vote.
The tweet read: “No more January to December.
“The #ballondor will now be awarded on the basis of a classic football season: August to July!
“No worries, the Qatar World Cup will count for the 2023 award.
“Less global but… much more demanding. The process of selection for the #ballondor jury members is changing.
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“Ballon d’Or Jury > journalists from country part of the FIFA top 100 ranking.
“Women’s Ballon d’Or Jury > journalists from country part of the FIFA top 50 ranking,” the organisers of the annual award stated.
The Ballon d’Or, which has been awarded since 1956, is an annual football award presented by French news magazine, France Football.
Although between 2010 and 2015, an agreement was made with FIFA, and the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (founded in 1991), and known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
However, the partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d’Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award, The Best FIFA Men’s Player.
The Ballon d’Or award honours the male and female players deemed to have performed the best over the previous year, based on voting by football journalists, coaches and captains of national teams.
The last men’s edition (2021) was won by Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina superstar, Lionel Messi, while Spanish midfielder, Alexia Putellas, who plays for Barcelona, won the Women’s edition.
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