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Ballon d'Or Gala Ceremony

The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by France Football to the best male and female players in the world. The award was established in 1956 for men and in 2018 for women, and is currently presented to the winning payers at an elaborate Ballon d'Or Gala Ceremony held in Paris, France in October each year.

Johan Cruyff being presented with one of his three Ballon d'Or awardsJohan Cruyff being presented with the Ballon d'Or in Amstelveen, The Netherlands, by Max Urini, editor-in-chief France Football. April 13, 1972

The presentation of the award has evolved over time. For much of its early history, the winner was announced via a press release or magazine publication. In 2010, the Ballon d'Or merged with FIFA's World Player of the Year award, creating the FIFA Ballon d'Or, and at the same time an elaborate gala ceremony was conducted to honor the winners. This collaboration ended in 2016, and France Football reclaimed ownership of the award.

Current Gala Ceremony

The award ceremony held in recent years are grand events featuring star-studded audiences, live performances, and emotional moments. Today, the gala is not just about celebrating the best male and female players, there are many other awards presented as part of the ceremony.

Current Awards Presented at the Gala Ceremony

Previous Ceremony Details

Year Date Location Hosts
2025 27 Oct (TBC)    
2024 28 Oct Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France Sandy Heribert /
Didier Drogba
2023 30 Oct Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France Sandy Heribert /
Didier Drogba
2022 17 Oct Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France Sandy Heribert /
Didier Drogba
2021 29 Nov Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France Sandy Heribert /
Didier Drogba
2020   no award  
2019 2 Dec Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France Sandy Heribert /
Didier Drogba
2018 3 Dec Grand Palais, Paris, France  
2017 7 Dec Eiffel Tower Idris Elba


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Football (some call it soccer) is the world's most popular sport. There are many major football tournaments, the pinnacle is the FIFA World Cup. See a calendar of what is coming up. There have been many legends of the game, particularly winners of the Ballon d'Or. For players, there are articles about Football Fitness and Fitness Testing.

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