The Ballon d’Or process for deciding individual footballer prizes varies depending on the award, but some key ones have very specific and interesting voting systems.
Here’s how voting works and how they decide the winner for major footballer prizes:
How Do Footballers Win the Biggest Individual Prizes? A Look at Voting & Decisions!
Ever wonder how players like Messi or Ronaldo consistently claim football’s most prestigious individual honors? It’s not just about scoring goals! Major awards like the Ballon d’Or and The Best FIFA Men’s Player employ rigorous voting processes involving experts from around the globe. Let’s break down how they determine the winners.
The Ballon d’Or: The Golden Ball’s Secret
The Ballon d’Or, presented by French magazine France Football (now co-organized with UEFA), stands as arguably the most prestigious individual award in football. Its voting system has seen some changes over the years, but currently,
It operates as follows:
Nomination Process: Journalists from L’Équipe and France Football editorial staff, along with input from the “best juror” from the previous edition and UEFA ambassadors, select a shortlist of 30 male players and 20 female players for their respective Ballon d’Or awards. They also nominate 10 players for the Kopa Trophy (best U21 player) and the Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper).
Voting Body: An international jury of specialized journalists casts votes. For the men’s Ballon d’Or, this includes one representative from each of the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations. The women’s award includes one from each of the top 50 FIFA-ranked nations.
Voting Criteria: Voters consider three main criteria:
Individual Performances: This includes statistics like goals, assists, overall impact, and a player’s decisive and impressive character during the season (since 2022, the award covers a season, not a calendar year).
Team Performances and Achievements: How well did the player’s club and national team perform? What titles did they win?
Class and Fair Play: This considers the player’s conduct on and off the pitch, including sportsmanship and philanthropic work.
The Point System: Each journalist chooses their top five players from the nominee list, assigning points as follows:
1st place: 6 points
2nd place: 4 points
3rd place: 3 points
4th place: 2 points
5th place: 1 point
Winner Determination: The player who accumulates the most points wins the Ballon d’Or. In case of a tie, the player with the most first-place votes wins. If the tie persists, they look at second-place votes, and so on. France Football’s editor-in-chief makes the final decision for any unresolved disputes.
Special Cases:
Kopa Trophy (Best Young Player): Only past Ballon d’Or winners vote for this award. They select three players (5, 3, 1 point).
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper): An international jury of specialized journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations votes, similar to the main Ballon d’Or, but they pick three goalkeepers (5, 3, 1 point).
The Best FIFA Football Awards:
A Broader Voice
FIFA, football’s global governing body, presents “The Best FIFA Football Awards,” which typically run separately from the Ballon d’Or (though they had a merged “FIFA Ballon d’Or” for a period). The voting for “The Best FIFA Men’s Player” involves a broader electorate:
Voting Groups: Four equal groups each hold 25% of the total vote:
National Team Coaches: Head coaches of all FIFA member associations’ national teams.
National Team Captains: Captains of all FIFA member associations’ national teams.
Media Representatives: Selected journalists from around the world.
Public Vote: Fans from around the globe can cast their votes online.
Criteria: Voters consider a player’s sporting performance and their general conduct on and off the pitch during the specified period (usually the previous calendar year or season).
Point System: Each voter in the first three categories selects their top three players, assigning points:
1st choice: 5 points
2nd choice: 3 points
3rd choice: 1 point
Winner Determination:
FIFA tallies points from all four groups, and the player with the highest overall total wins the award. In case of a tie, FIFA’s rules outline specific tie-breaking procedures, often favoring the player with more first-place votes from captains.
UEFA Men’s Player of the Year: European Focus
UEFA, European football’s governing body, also presents a prestigious individual award recognizing the best player competing for a European club.
Voting Process: A jury typically comprises:
Coaches of clubs that participated in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in the previous season.
A select group of sports journalists chosen by European Sports Media (ESM).
Criteria: They judge players based on their performances in all competitions (domestic, continental, and international) at both club and national team levels throughout the previous season.
Point System: Each juror submits a list of their top three players, awarding points:
1st place: 5 points
2nd place: 3 points
3rd place: 1 point
Winner Determination: The player with the highest total points wins.
Understanding these detailed processes reveals the complexity and rigorous evaluation behind crowning the world’s best footballers each year. It’s more than just a popularity contest; it involves expert judgment, statistical analysis, and a look at a player’s overall impact on the beautiful game.
Join our socials
https://www.instagram.com/stranacmedia/
https://x.com/stranacmedia
@stranacmedia