How does Ballon d'Or voting work? Criteria, tie-breaker and more explained

Hosted in London this year as opposed to the traditional location of Paris, the race to win the Ballon d’Or feels more competitive than ever before.

The ceremony will take place at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26, marking the first time the awards have been held in London. The move also carries a historical significance, with the capital chosen as a tribute to former England international Sir Stanley Matthews, the inaugural Ballon d’Or winner in 1956.

And unlike in previous seasons, where it may have seemed clear who would win the award, in 2026, it looks set to be a very close-run contest.

Among the leading contenders for the men's prize are England and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, Spain and Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal, and France and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe.

The Ballon d'Or Feminin, meanwhile, also makes for intriguing debate, with the likes of Alexia Putellas, Ewa Pajor and Melchie Dumornay fighting for the prestigious prize.

But how exactly is the winner decided? Who votes for it? When does voting close? And what is the tie-breaker? We take you through the key details on how the Ballon d’Or actually works.

The Ballon d’Or is awarded to the best men’s and women’s player in the world and is considered the biggest individual accolade to win in football.

It has been hosted by France Football since 1956 in the men's category, while the Ballon d’Or Feminin was first introduced in 2018.

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be the 70th edition of the awards (there was no ceremony in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic).

The awards have been co-organised by France Football and UEFA since 2024. France Football retains ownership of the Ballon d’Or brand and oversees the voting system, while UEFA contributes its football expertise, handles the global commercial rights and organises the annual ceremony.

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For Ballon d’Or voting, there are three main criteria that players are judged on:

Those criteria are applied in that order of importance. Individual performances and a player’s decisive and impressive character come first, followed by team achievements and then class and fair play. Voters consider performances for both club and country.

For the 2026 awards, the nominee lists are drawn up by France Football’s editorial staff, members of the L’Equipe editorial team, at least one juror from the previous edition and UEFA ambassadors. For the men’s award, those ambassadors are Luis Figo and Fabio Capello, while Nadine Kessler is the ambassador for the women’s award.

There are 30 nominees for both the men’s and women’s editions of the Ballon d’Or, which were chosen by France Football. They were revealed on September 8 and are as follows:

As it has been since 2022, the Ballon d’Or is now decided on the previous European season, rather than the calendar year.

So, for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, players' actions between August 3, 2025 and July 19, 2026 are judged, with the one exception of the women’s AFCON, which concluded on August 16 and will count towards the current season.

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The regulations specify that the reference period covers the entire 2025/26 season and includes international competitions. For the men, that includes the 2026 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations, while the women’s reference period includes the Asian Cup and the Nations League final phase. The Women’s AFCON, which ended on August 16, falls into the following season.

A panel, or jury as they are officially known, will decide who is crowned the best men’s and women’s player in the world.

For the men, there are 100 voters, all of whom are journalists selected from the top 100 FIFA nations with one representative per country.

For the women, the same format applies, but there will be 50.

Monday, September 28 marks the voting deadline.

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Each juror chooses their top 10 players in descending order from the list of 30.

As a result of their votes, each player will be awarded the following points:

Points are then tallied up and the player with the highest number of points will win the Ballon d’Or.

In the unlikely event of a tie, players will be separated by the number of first-place votes they receive.

If the tie continues, it goes to the number of second place votes, and so on.

The regulations also state that any dispute arising from the voting process is ultimately settled by the editor-in-chief of France Football, acting as the organiser.

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