Ballon d’Or 2026: How Is the Winner Chosen?

The Ballon d’Or is regarded as one of the most prestigious individual awards in football. The 2026 ceremony will be held on October 26 at the London Palladium Theatre, marking the award’s 70th anniversary. Created by France Football in 1956, the Ballon d’Or has been co-organised by France Football and UEFA since 2024. Lionel Messi is among the 2026 nominees, alongside stars such as Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Vinícius Júnior.

The winner is selected by an international jury of specialised football journalists, with one representative from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s rankings. Each juror chooses 10 players from the 30 nominees and awards them 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points respectively. The player with the highest total wins the award. The voting considers individual performances, team achievements, and class and fair play. In case of a tie, first-place votes are used as the first tiebreaker, followed by second-place votes and so on.