The Ballon d’Or changes its rules

France Soccer, publication responsible for delivering the Ballon d’Or, announced a series of changes in the prize rules that represent a revolution compared to what has been seen so far. The publication summarizes it in four main points.

1. By season

The prize will no longer be awarded per calendar year, but per season. This is something that was demanded, because with the previous system it was necessary to judge what a footballer had done in two different campaigns. The merits were always on horseback between what was done in one season and another, with little importance for the second part as there were fewer relevant things on the calendar. In this way, the next trophy will only evaluate the 2021-2022 season. The World Cup, which will be part of the 2022-2023 Ballon d’Or, is therefore left out.

2. More specialists

At the time of drawing up the previous lists, more personalities will participate than the drafting of France Soccer, who was in charge of marking the initial list of 30 male, 20 female and 10 youth players for Kopa and another 10 for Yashin. For example Didier Drogba, Ballon d’Or ambassador, or the winners of past seasons will contribute their previous list, as well as other players who have appeared on different award lists. The same will happen in the female section.

3. Fewer voters

A major criticism of the Ballon d’Or was that some voters from small countries did not have enough relevance and football culture to match those from powerful countries. From now on, only the representatives of the first 100 countries in the FIFA ranking will have the right to vote. This way, France Soccer it ensures that there are no votes without a sufficiently considerable quality that they are equal to the rest.

4. Premio individual

Although the Ballon d’Or was always an award for a footballer, sometimes collective successes were given more weight than individual ones. In other words, the player who won several titles with his club or national team was always among the finalists even without having played a leading role in these achievements. With the change, the thesis that the award is for a footballer for his merits, not for those of his team, will be reinforced, which will make it possible for someone to win it even if they have not had a satisfactory season at the level of titles.