JAKARTA – The Ballon d’Or ceremony to crown the best male and female players in football will move from its traditional venue in Paris to London in October 2026.
The change of venue for the October 26, 2026 ceremony marks the 70th anniversary. It is not without reason that the event is moving to London.
The reason, according to France Football Magazine and UEFA, is none other than the first award won by English legend Stanley Matthews.
London is also the home city of England’s top scorer Harry Kane and Arsenal’s team who won their first English League title in 22 years.
Kane scored 61 goals in 51 games in an incredible season for Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. His best total in his career included 14 goals in the Champions League – where Bayern Munich were beaten by PSG in the semi-finals – plus another five goals for England in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Ousmane Dembele won the men’s Ballon d’Or in Paris last year after PSG won their first Champions League.
Dembele scored 19 goals in 39 games for PSG this season and only started in 11 games in the Ligue 1 title race.
He has scored seven goals in the Champions League, including a crucial goal against Bayern Munich despite missing five of France’s six 2026 World Cup qualifiers through injury.
The last three-time Ballon d’Or women’s award winner, Aitana Bonmati, was absent for almost the entire season due to injury, and returned at the end of the season with Barcelona who won four titles, including the Champions League title against OL Lyonnes in the final.
The Ballon d’Or voters are a panel of global journalists who each choose their top 10 players from a shortlist of 30 players presented by France Football, newspaper L’Equipe, and UEFA.
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