The Ballon d’Or is one of the most prestigious individual football awards that can be won by a soccer player each year. Established in 1956, France Football‘s famous Golden Ball accolade has returned for the 68th year in 2024.
It has been won by the greatest players of all time, with Cristian Ronaldo and Lionel Messi memorably trading the trophy for over 10 years, but the scene has opened up for a new generation of legends. Icons from the game will be present at the ceremony with plenty of glitz and glamour expected.
Here, GOAL brings you everything you need to know about the 2024 Ballon d’Or award ceremony, including when it is, how to watch it, and more.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, on Monday, October 28, 2024.
It is due to begin at 3:45 pm ET for viewers in the United States, with UK viewers able to watch from 7:45 pm GMT.
Fans across the world will be able to stream the 2024 Ballon d’Or for free on L’Equipe’s official YouTube channel.
Regional broadcasters will also be showing the ceremony live on their networks. Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo will be streaming the Ballon d’Or ceremony in the United States. As well as the Ballon d’Or ceremony, Paramount+ is home to a variety of soccer competitions, including the Champions League, Serie A, the EFL and more.
You can see the full list of nominees for each award below.
The different awards are decided in different ways, with a mix of journalists and ex-players helping to choose the most worthy winners.
A panel of journalists from the top 100 football nations, per the FIFA rankings, vote on the men’s Ballon d’Or award. Each nation has one journalist representative who votes on the international ballot.
Like the men’s Ballon d’Or award, the Ballon d’Or Feminin is decided by an international panel of journalists. However, it is a panel of 50 – one journalist from each of the top 50 nations.
The winner of the Kopa trophy is decided by a jury of Ballon d’Or winners.
The Yashin Trophy winner is decided in the same way as the men’s Ballon d’Or, by a panel of 100 journalists.
Lionel Messi won the 2023 Ballon d’Or, taking his honours tally to a record eight. Messi defeated Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe following a stellar World Cup-winning season. Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or Feminin, pipping Sam Kerr and Salma Paralluelo to the award