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The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held at London’s Palladium Theatre at 9pm Nigerian time, marking the 70th anniversary of the prestigious award first won by Sir Stanley Matthews in 1956.
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Harry Kane is the overwhelming favourite after scoring 61 goals for Bayern Munich last season, while Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal are among his leading challengers.
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The winners will be determined by an international jury of specialised journalists, with voting based on individual performances, team achievements and fair play during the 2025/26 season.
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A total of 13 awards will be presented, including the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or, young player, goalkeeper, coach, club and striker awards, alongside the Sócrates Award for humanitarian initiatives.
October 26, (THEWILL) – The 2026 Ballon d’Or award ceremony is set to be held at the London Palladium Theatre in London on Monday night, with 60 players nominated for the men’s and women’s top prizes.
The ceremony will mark the 70th anniversary of the prestigious award, which was first presented in 1956 to England legend Sir Stanley Matthews.
London Palladium Theatre in London
The main ceremony is scheduled to begin at 8pm British time, which is 9pm in Nigeria. Football legend Thierry Henry and sports presenter Kate Scott will host the event.
This year’s edition is particularly significant because it is the first time the ceremony will be held in London, with the choice of venue paying tribute to Matthews, the inaugural winner of the men’s award.
The Ballon d’Or was established by France Football in 1956 and has since become one of the most recognised individual honours in football.
The nominees are judged for their performances over the entirety of last season from August 3, 2025 until July 19, 2026.
Who Are The Favourites For The Award?
Harry Kane is the overwhelming favourite to win the award with bookmakers tipping him to beat the likes of Lamine Yamal, and Kylian Mbappe to the prestigious award.
The England captain scored 61 goals for Bayern across all competitions last season, 19 more than any other player in Europe’s big-five leagues.
In fact, it was the most by a player in a season since Cristiano Ronaldo scored 61 for Real Madrid in 2014/15.
Kane also scored 12 goals for England, with his six goals in the Three Lions’ 2026 World Cup semi-final run seeing him become England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer.
However, Kylian Mbappe scored more goals than Kane and in the Champions League last season, winning the top scorer awards in both competitions.
He scored 10 goals at the 2026 World Cup – the most by a player in a single edition since Gerd Muller scored 10 in 1970 for West Germany.
The French forward is now the all-time scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals.
Mbappe finished as the top scorer in La Liga with 25 goals; he also scored 15 goals to win the award in the Champions League, one more than Harry Kane.
Lamine Yamal: The Barcelona prodigy had a quiet World Cup and his season ended abruptly in April.
Yamal still managed to score 24 goals and recorded 17 assists in all competitions for Barcelona last season.
He also recorded the most dribbles both at the World Cup (58) and across Europe’s top-five leagues (265) during the 2025/26 season.
He provided 20 assists for club and country last season, while Mbappe had 13 and Kane had just eight.
Yamal recorded 45 overall goal contributions compared to Kane’s 81 and Mbappe’s 71.
It will be the third year running that a new name has been awarded the gong after years of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominance.
2026 Ballon d’Or Award Criteria
According to the organisers, the 2026 Ballon d’Or is awarded based on three main criteria in order of importance, evaluated over a specific season from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026.
Individual Performances, Decisive and Impressive Character: Goal-scoring, game-changing moments, overall skill, and influence on the pitch.
Collective Performances and Titles Won: Trophies and success achieved with club and national teams (including tournaments like the Men’s World Cup and AFCON).
Class and Fair Play: Sportsmanship, behavior, and respect on and off the field.
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2026 Ballon d’Or Award Voting & Selection Process
The Ballon d’Or is awarded by an international jury of specialized journalists, with one representative per country:
The top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings for the men’s award and the top 50 for the women’s award. The FIFA rankings used are those in effect at the time the lists are published, on September 8, 2026.
Each member names ten players in descending order of merit from a list of 30, drawn up by the France Football editorial staff, members of the L’Équipe editorial staff, at least one juror from the previous edition, and UEFA ambassadors Luis Figo and Fabio Capello for the men’s trophy and Nadine Kessler for the women’s trophy.
The ten players named are awarded 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points respectively. The Ballon d’Or is awarded to the player with the highest total number of points.
In the event of a tie, players are separated by the number of first-place mentions. If the tie persists, by the number of second-place mentions, then third-place mentions, and so on.
13 Awards to Be Presented
Men’s and Women’s Ballon d’Or
Men’s and Women’s Young Talent of the Year
Men’s and Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year
Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year
Men’s and Women’s Club of the Year
Men’s and Women’s Striker of the Year
Sócrates Award, recognising solidarity initiatives and social causes supported by football figures.
How To Watch the Ceremony and Time
Football fans can follow the ceremony through the official Ballon d’Or website and the event’s designated broadcast partners.
The main event is scheduled to begin at 8pm in the United Kingdom, equivalent to 9pm in Nigeria.
You can also watch on DSTV, GOtv, and other online streaming platforms.
Time: 9pm Nigerian time.
