In 2022, France Football modified the rules for the Ballon d'Or. The award became a global prize in 2007 with all professional footballers from around the world being eligible. Īfter 2007, coaches and captains of national teams were also given the right to vote. In 1995, the Ballon d'Or was expanded to include all players of any origin that have been active at European clubs. Originally, it was awarded only to players from Europe and is widely known as the European Footballer of the Year award. Ĭonceived by sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran, the Ballon d'Or award honors the male player deemed to have performed the best over the previous year, based on voting by football journalists, from 1956 to 2006.

The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d'Or are considered as winners by both award organisations. That partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d'Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award The Best FIFA Men's Player. Between 20, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (founded in 1991) and known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or. ' Golden Ball ') is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956 and co-organized alongside UEFA since 2024.

The Ballon d'Or ( French pronunciation: ⓘ lit.

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