The Ballon d’Or award ceremony will take place on September 22 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and for the first time in its history, the number of awards for men and women will be equal, organisers announced on Monday.
France Football magazine and UEFA confirmed that three new awards have been introduced for women: Best Goalkeeper, Best Young Player, and Top Scorer (across club and national teams). These additions bring the total number of awards for female players to six—matching the number already awarded to their male counterparts.
In addition, the Socrates Award, which recognises humanitarian or social initiatives by players, will again be presented. This award is open to both male and female nominees.
The list of nominees for all categories will be revealed in early August.
Last year’s ceremony was marred by controversy when Real Madrid boycotted the event after learning that their Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior did not win the Best Men’s Player award, which was instead given to Manchester City’s Rodri.
AFP
