The Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) awards, co-organised by France Football magazine and UEFA, is football's most prestigious individual honour.
Started in 1956, the award was decided by journalists to select the best European player of the previous year, before expanding in 1995 to include all players playing in Europe and then finally in 2007 to all players the world over.
For six years between 2010-2015, the award was given in conjunction with FIFA, before the partnership ended and FIFA reverted to their separate annual award. The current iteration sees the Ballon d'Or given for achievements during a football season rather than across a calendar year.
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or eight times, three more than his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Current men's award holder, Ousmane Dembélé will be looking to become just the 11th man to win the top prize two (or more) times. Meanwhile, current women's award holder Aitana Bonmatà won't be making it a record-extending fourth straight win after she was not nominated in the top 30 due to missing most of last season with a broken leg.
The 2026 Ballon d'Or will be the 70th edition of the awards and will be held outside Paris for the first time. London is set to host the awards ceremony as the organisers honour the inaugural winner of the award, Sir Stanley Mathews.
The awards will take into account achievements from Aug. 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026 (which was the date of the 2026 World Cup final) for the men, and Aug. 3, 2025 to Aug 16, 2026 (which was the date of the women's AFCON final) for women.
When, and where is the Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony happening?
Date: Oct. 26, Monday
Time: 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET, 12.30 a.m. IST)
Venue: London Palladium Theatre, England
Where to watch the Ballon d'Or 2026 award ceremony
Streaming will be available on the award website itself -- ballondor.com. The event is also set to be broadcast, free, worldwide by DAZN. More broadcast details have yet to be revealed.
How does voting work for the Ballon d'Or 2026 awards?
Selected international journalists cast their votes based on the performances of players throughout the season. The panel consists of one representative per country from the top 100 nations in the FIFA men's world ranking and the top 50 in the Women's world ranking.
Each voter ranks their top 10 candidates, with points distributed on a descending scale. They vote based on three factors: individual performance, team achievements, and class combined with fair play.
Who are the nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2026 men's award?
Ferran Torres (Barcelona, now Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)
William Saliba (Arsenal and France)
Fabián Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)
Rodri (Manchester City, now Barcelona and Spain)
Declan Rice (Arsenal and England)
Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain and Ecuador)
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich and France)
João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami and Argentina)
Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid and France)
Lautaro MartÃnez (Inter Milan and Argentina)
Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil)
Sadio Mané (Al Nassr and Senegal)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)
Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal and Brazil)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United and Portugal)
Luis DÃaz (Bayern Munich and Colombia)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
Marc Cucurella (Chelsea, now Real Madrid and Spain)
Pau Cubarsà (Barcelona and Spain)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
Who are the nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2026 women's award?
Tessa Wullaert (Inter Milan, now Como and Belgium)
Caroline Weir (Real Madrid, now OL Lyonnes and Scotland)
Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich and Japan)
Khadija Shaw (Manchester City and Jamaica)
Alessia Russo (Arsenal and England)
Wendie Renard (OL Lyonnes and France)
Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, now London City Lionesses and Spain)
Clà udia Pina (Barcelona and Spain)
Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City and Netherlands)
Manaka Matsukubo (North Caroline Courage, now Chelsea and Japan)
Melvine Malard (Manchester United, now Chelsea and France)
Lorena (Kansas City Current and Brazil)
Mapi León (Barcelona, now London City Lionesses and Spain)
Rose Lavelle (Gotham and USA)
Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City and Japan)
Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich and Denmark)
Patri Guijarro (Barcelona and Spain)
Alex Greenwood (Manchester City and England)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona and Norway)
Melchie Dumornay (OL Lyonnes and Haiti)
Cata Coll (Barcelona and Spain)
Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current and Malawi)
Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City and Netherlands)
Scarlett Camberos (Club America and Mexico)
Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal and Spain)
Esmee Brugts (Barcelona and Netherlands)
Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride and Zambia)
Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes and France)
What other awards will be given?
The Men's and Women's Kopa Trophies (named after the French footballer Raymond Kopa), awarded for best young players (under 21). The nominees are:
Men's:
Kerim Alajbegovic (RB Salzburg, now Juventus and Bosnia-Herzogovina)
Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille, now Manchester City and Morocco)
Pau CubarsÃ(Barcelona and Spain)
Yan Diamonde (RB Leipzig, now Real Madrid and Ivory Coast)
Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth and France)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Johan Manzambi (Freiburg, now Aston Villa and Switzerland)
Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
Women's:
Veerle Buurman (Chelsea and Netherlands)
Vicky López (Barcelona and Spain)
Felicia Schröder (BK Hacken, now Real Madrid and Sweden)
Clara Serrajordi (Barcelona and Spain )
Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes and USA)
The Men's and Women's Yashin Trophies (named after Soviet goalie Lev Yashin), awarded for the best goalkeeper. The nominees are:
Men's
Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal and Morocco)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund and Switzerland)
Joan GarcÃa (Barcelona and Spain)
Édouard Mendy Al Ahli and Senegal)
Emiliano MartÃnez (Aston Villa, now Chelsea and Argentina)
David Raya (Arsenal and Spain)
Vozinha (GD Chaves, now Colo-Colo and Cape Verde)
Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao and Spain)
Matvei Safonov (Paris Saint-Germain and Russia)
Women's
Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham and Germany)
Cata Coll (Barcelona and Spain)
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea and England)
Lorena (Kansas City Current and Brazil)
Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City and Japan)
Gerd Müller Trophy (named after the German striker), given to the top scorer from the previous season which on the men's side in 2025-26 was Harry Kane who found the back of the net 73 times for club and country. Barcelona's Ewa Pajor is locked in to win her second straight trophy.
Socrates Award (named after Brazilian footballer Dr. Socrates), awarded for the best humanitarian work done by a footballer. This award is presented in collaboration with 'Peace and Sport'
Men's and Women's Club of the Year
The nominees are:
Men's
Arsenal
Bayern Munich
Flamengo
Paris Saint-Germain
Women's
Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Club America
Manchester City
OL Lyonnes
Men's and Women's Coach of the Year
The nominees are:
Men's
Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
Luis de la Fuente (Spain)
Unai Emery (Aston Villa)
Vincent Kompany (Bayern Munich)
Luis Enrique (PSG)
Women's
Jonatan Giráldez (OL Lyonnes)
Andrée Jeglertz (Manchester City)
Nils Nielsen (Japan)
Pere Romeu (Barcelona)
Elena Sadiku (Celtic/BK Häcken)
