Aitana Bonmati reviews a successful year for her at a team and individual level including what's next for Spain's national team after Rubiales scandal. (1:12)
Nov 3, 2023, 08:25 AM ET Football's most prestigious individual prize, the Ballon d'Or, will be co-organised by UEFA from next year, giving the European governing body a global event that traditionally out-ranks FIFA's own world awards. The deal comes seven years after a previous partnership between the French organisers of the award and world governing body FIFA ended. - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) - Women's Ballon d'or mess shows soccer has long way to go From 2024, the Ballon d'Or awards and ceremony will be co-organised by UEFA and Groupe Amaury, which publishes France Football and L'Equipe. France Football magazine created the Ballon d'Or, which was first awarded in 1956 to England winger Stanley Matthews. For six seasons from 2010 the award was known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or, and ceremonies were held in the world governing body's home city Zurich. FIFA has run its own Best Awards since 2016 and previously had an annual world player of the year award since 1991. The latest edition of the Ballon d'Or was held Monday in Paris with two World Cup winners taking the awards as best player: Lionel Messi won the men's prize for the eighth time and Aitana Bonmatí took home her first women's award. "UEFA will contribute its football expertise, market the global commercial rights and organize the annual awards gala," it said in a statement. The relaunch will add new awards for the best coaches in men's and women's soccer. "Together, UEFA and Groupe Amaury aim to enhance the stature and global reach of the awards while fostering a sense of unity and collaboration within the football community," UEFA said. The deal will also see UEFA scrap its own player of the year awards, which have traditionally been handed out in August, although it will hand out a player of the season award for each of its club competitions, such as the Champions League and Europa League. Meanwhile, Messi and Inter Miami will play an exhibition match on Nov. 10 to celebrate him winning his eighth Ballon d'Or. The team will play fellow Major League Soccer club New York City FC. Both teams missed the MLS playoffs, which started last month. The trophy will be presented to the crowd before the match, with that ceremony also set to include remarks by MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas, the team said. Messi returned to South Florida early Tuesday after the Ballon d'Or announcement and was at a training session with the club that morning, which was a clear indicator that Inter Miami was still looking to add a match even though its MLS season is over. The FIFA World Player of the Year award is given annually to the football player who is voted as the best in the world. Here are all the award winners since 1991. Since 2004 the voting process is based on a shortlist of 35 players produced by FIFA, from which team captains, national team managers and select journalists vote for the winner. From 2010 until 2015, the FIFA player of the year award was merged with the Ballon d'Or and called the FIFA Ballon d'Or. Compare this list to the player of the year according to World Soccer magazine, and also the female player of the year. Including the FIFA Ballon d'Or (years 2010-2015), Lionel Messi has won the award seven times, with Cristiano Ronaldo having won it five times. The 2016 and 2017 winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year winner was Cristiano Ronaldo, who also won the Ballon d'Or for the same periods. In 2018 he failed to win the hat-trick, polling second behind Croatian Luka Modrić. In 2022, Messi won the award for the 7th time. Related Pages
Old CommentsCommenting is closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which is interesting to read, and may answer some of your questions. This article is about the men's player of the year award from 1991 to 2009, and the women's player of the year award from 2001 to 2015. For the men's player of the year award from 2010 to 2015, see FIFA Ballon d'Or. For the men's award since 2016, see The Best FIFA Men's Player. For the women's award since 2016, see The Best FIFA Women's Player. FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldo, the youngest recipient of the award aged 20, won it three times. Presented byFIFAFirst awarded1991Last awarded2009Most awards Marta, the youngest recipient of the award aged 20, won it five times. Presented byFIFAFirst awarded2001Last awarded2015Most awards The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year. Originally a single award for the world's best men's player, parallel awards for men and women were awarded from 2001 to 2009. The men's award was subsumed into the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 while the women's award remained until 2015. After 2015 both men's and women's awards became part of The Best FIFA Football Awards. During the men's era, Brazilian players won 8 out of 19 years, compared to three wins – the second most – for French players. In terms of individual players, Brazil again led with five, followed by Italy and Portugal with two each. The youngest winner was Ronaldo, who won at 20 years old in 1996, and the oldest winner was Fabio Cannavaro, who won aged 33 in 2006. Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane each won the award three times, while Ronaldo and Ronaldinho were the only players to win in successive years. From 2010 to 2015, the equivalent men's award was the FIFA Ballon d'Or, following a merging of the FIFA World Player of the Year and the France Football Ballon d'Or awards. Since 2016, the awards have been replaced by The Best FIFA Men's Player and The Best FIFA Women's Player awards. Eight women's footballers – three Germans, three Americans, one Brazilian, and one Japanese – have won the award. Marta, the youngest recipient at age 20 in 2006, has won five successive awards, the most of any player. Birgit Prinz won three times in a row and Mia Hamm won twice in a row. The oldest winner is Nadine Angerer, who was 35 when she won in 2013; she is also the only goalkeeper of either sex to win. Voting and selection process[edit]The winners are chosen by the coaches and captains of national teams as well as by international media representatives invited by FIFA. In a voting system based on positional voting, each voter is allotted three votes, worth five points, three points and one point, and the three finalists are ordered based on total number of points. Following criticism from some sections of the media over nominations in previous years, FIFA has since 2004 provided shortlists from which its voters can select their choices. FIFA World Player of the Year[edit]Year Rank Player Team Points 1991 1st Source: From 2010 to 2015, the award was merged with the Ballon d'Or to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership with France Football. In 2016, FIFA rebranded the award as The Best FIFA Men's Player. A single article from the Portuguese magazine A Bola reporting about the 1992 award mentions the former award winners Lothar Matthäus in 1991, but also Diego Maradona in 1990. There is no other evidence of the award being presented by FIFA prior to 1991. |