France Football’s Ballon d’Or will start to evaluate the sporting season to the detriment of the calendar year.
The magazine announced this Friday that the award, which began in 1956 still only for men, will align with the season, have a more restricted jury, a different pre-selection and clearer criteria.
“It is an opportunity to give new impetus. Before, we evaluated two half seasons. That way it’s more readable”, explained the editor-in-chief of France Football, Pascal Ferré.
The next trophy will be delivered in September or October of this year. The reform of this distinction comes in a year when the world football calendar will be atypical, with the World Cup taking place outside the usual period, between November and December. In this way, participation in the Qatar race will only influence the 2022/23 prize.
Former footballer Didier Drogba will be included in the committee that will pre-select the nominees and the number of judges will be reduced, keeping journalists, but only one per country.
At the men’s level, the vote will be done by 100 people, unlike the previous 170, which correspond to the first 100 countries in the FIFA ranking, and at women’s it is reduced to half, to 50 people.
Collective achievements take a back seat, with France Football wanting to emphasize “the individual performance” and the “decisive or impressive character” of the candidates.
It is recalled that the current holders of the trophy are Lionel Messi and the Spanish Alexia Putellas.
Between 2010 and 2015, the trophy was presented at the same time as the FIFA best player award.
