It’s that time of year again! The Nobel Prize announcement is approaching, slated for October 2nd to 9th, with one laureate revealed each day. And the Ballon d’Or (the prestigious Golden Ball award for footballers) is set for October 30. Juicy October! It’s gonna be fun.
Speaking of the Ballon d’Or, it’s organized by the French Football magazine. From 2010 to 2015, FIFA and French Football collaborated on this award, but their partnership ended in 2015 when FIFA introduced its own “The Best FIFA Football Awards” later in 2017. Despite the name distinction, both awards essentially honor the “Best Player of the Year” for the season. Typically, it’s a duopoly of the football legends CR7 and Messi, occasionally interrupted by other renowned names like Benzema and Modrić.
Now, let’s delve into the intriguing nomination and award process, focusing on the years 2010-2015. Initially, French Football and FIFA jointly compile a shortlist of 30 players, which is unveiled in early September. Subsequently, a diverse panel of over 100 individuals, including national team captains, coaches, and journalists, is invited to cast their votes. They rank their top three players, with the first choice earning 5 points, the second 3 points, and the third 1 point. The player with the most points wins the award, which is announced during the October ceremony.
Navigating this process may seem complex. At least the voting mechanism doesn’t seem straightforwardly truthful to me. But if the ultimate goal is to determine the very top player, the voting process should yield the desired outcome with large possibility…right? Moreover, though the Ballon d’Or typically goes to the best and most popular player on the planet for that year — but everyone nominated is already deserving for being in the shortlist.
Nobody is “above” Leo Messi, except for Mr. Martinez (at least in this epic world cup victory shot)… Btw, Lautaro Martinez is also in 2023’s Ballon d’Or shortlist.
The good news is that FIFA provides detailed voting results, revealing to the extent of who voted for whom and in what order. I’ve managed to download and parse the spreadsheet, and I’ll be sharing any interesting findings soon. Stay tuned!