How does Ballon d'Or 2026 voting work? Criteria, tie-breaker, nominees, points explained for men's and women's awards

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We have reached that time of the year when the countdown begins for the naming of the best player in world football. The 2026 edition of the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony will take place in just over a month.

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Unusually being hosted in London as opposed to the traditional location of Paris, fans and experts are increasingly making their calls on who should be awarded the Ballon d’Or.

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 indeed.

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

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What is the Ballon d’Or?

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).

What are players judged on?

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

1) Individual performances
2) Collective performances and titles won
3) Class and fair play

How many nominees are there?

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:

Men's award

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona and Spain)
Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid and Spain)
Ousmane Dembele (PSG and France)
Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich and Colombia)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United and Portugal)
Gabriel (Arsenal and Brazil)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
Achraf Hakimi (PSG and Morocco)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG and Georgia)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Sadio Mane (Al Nassr and Senegal)
Marquinhos (PSG and Brazil)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter and Argentina)
Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid and France)
Nuno Mendes (PSG and Portugal)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami and Argentina)
Joao Neves (PSG and Portugal)
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich and France)
Willian Pacho (PSG and Ecuador)
Julian Quinones (Al Qadsiah and Mexico)
Declan Rice (Arsenal and England)
Rodri (Barcelona and Spain)
Fabian Ruiz (PSG and Spain)
William Saliba (Arsenal and France)
Ferran Torres (PSG and Spain)
Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich and France)
Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid and Brazil)
Vitinha (PSG and Portugal)

Women's award

Selma Bacha (Lyon and France)
Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride and Zambia)
Klara Buhl (Bayern Munch and Germany)
Esmee Brugts (Barcelona and Netherlands)
Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal and Spain)
Scarlett Camberos (America and Mexico)
Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City and Netherlands)
Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current and Malawi)
Cata Coll (Barcelona and Spain)
Melchie Dumornay (Lyon and Haiti)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona and Norway)
Alex Greenwood (Manchester City and England)
Patri Guijarro (Barcelona and Spain)
Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich and Denmark)
Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City and Japan)
Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC and USA)
Mapi Leon (Barcelona and Spain)
Lorena (Kansas City Current and Brazil)
Melvine Malard (Chelsea and France)
Manaka Matsukubo (Chelsea and Japan)
Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City and Netherlands)
Ewa Pajor (Barcelona and Poland)
Claudia Pina (Barcelona and Spain)
Alexia Putellas (London City Lionesses and Spain)
Wendie Renard (Lyon and France)
Alessia Russo (Arsenal and England)
Khadija Shaw (Manchester City and Jamaica)
Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich and Japan)
Caroline Weir (Lyon and Scotland)
Tessa Wullaert (Como and Belgium)

What period are players judged on?

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.

Who votes for the Ballon d’Or?

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 will be 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.

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How are votes cast for the Ballon d’Or?

Each juror will choose 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:

First place: 15 points
Second place: 12 points
Third place: 10 points
Fourth place: 8 points
Fifth place: 7 points
Sixth place: 5 points
Seventh place: 4 points
Eighth place: 3 points
Ninth place: 2 points
Tenth place: 1 point

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

What happens if there is a tie?

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.

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