The Ballon d'Or 2026

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Football and you

• Did you play when you were younger?

• Have you ever had a favourite team / country for football?

• How many football matches have you been to? Which was the most enjoyable?

• Who is your favourite player of all time? Why?

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Football and the world

• Why is football the most popular sport on the planet?

• Why are fans so invested in their teams?

• Is football really about individual stars, or about the team?

• How has football changed in the last twenty years?

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Before you read

By Tkotw12 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php ?curid=154439833

What do you already know? Guess if you're not sure.

1. What is the Ballon d'Or?

2. How long has it been around for?

3. Who has won the most Ballon d'Or titles?

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The Golden Ball

Every autumn, the football world stops to watch one ceremony. The Ballon d'Or - French for 'Golden Ball' - is the most famous individual award in the sport, given to the best player of the past season.

The award was created in 1956 by the French magazine France Football. Journalists voted, and the first winner was Stanley Matthews, a 41-year-old English winger. At first, only European players could win. The rules opened up to non-Europeans at European clubs in 1995, and to players anywhere in the world in 2007.

For more than a decade, the prize belonged to two men. Between 2008 and 2023, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo won it 13 times out of 15. Ronaldo collected five; Messi won a record eight.

Only Luka Modrić in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022 broke their grip. Since then, Rodri has won in 2024 and Ousmane Dembélé in 2025.

The story has not always been simple. From 2010 to 2015 the award was joined with FIFA's own prize, before the two split again. In 2020 there was no winner at all because of the pandemic. And since 2018 there has also been a women's Ballon d'Or - Spain's Aitana Bonmatí won it three years in a row.

Today, one journalist from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA world rankings picks ten players from a shortlist of thirty. This year's ceremony, the 70th, is on 26 October - and for the first time ever, it leaves France, for the London Palladium.

By Tkotw12 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php? curid=154439833

discuss

• Did you answer the questions correctly?

• What do you know about the previous winners? What were their best moments?

• Why are there so many other awards for 'the best footballer'? Shouldn't there just be one?

• Now that Messi and Ronaldo are pretty much done, which players do you think will dominate in the next few years?

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Make a list of TEN of the best players in the world right now

And the nominees are...

Ballon d'Or 2026 · London · 26 October

This year's contenders

Did any of them make your top ten?

Harry Kane · Bayern Munich, England.

Lamine Yamal · Barcelona, Spain.

Scored more than 60 goals for Bayern and won the German league and cup. Led England to third place at the World Cup - their best finish since 1966.

Still only 19. Won La Liga with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain, with more than 20 goals and 15 assists in the season.

Kylian Mbappé · Real Madrid, France.

Rodri · Barcelona, Spain.

Top scorer at the World Cup with 10 goals - the first player ever to win the Golden Boot twice. Over 40 goals for Real Madrid, but the club won nothing.

The 2024 winner came back from a serious knee injury to win the World Cup - and was named the best player of the tournament.

Michael Olise · Bayern Munich, France.

Ousmane Dembélé · PSG, France.

A creative winger who won the German league and cup, with more than 20 goals and 30 assists.

Last year's winner. PSG won the French league and a second Champions League in a row - and he scored in the final against Arsenal.

Lionel Messi · Inter Miami, Argentina.

Fabián Ruiz · PSG, Spain.

At 39, he scored 8 goals at the World Cup and took Argentina to the final, where they lost 1-0 to Spain. He also won Inter Miami's first MLS Cup.

A midfielder who won the two biggest prizes in football in the same season: the Champions League with PSG and the World Cup with Spain.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DblRMXKoof8/

discuss

• How many of these players do you recognise?

• Have you seen any of their biggest moments in the last 12 months?

• Based on the brief descriptions and your own knowledge, who do you think deserves to win?

• What should determine the winner? Medals? Goals? Individual performances? Star quality? Something else?

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Realistically, there are only three contenders for this year's title. Let's take a look at some of their highlights.

discuss

• What stood out as being the most spectacular moments for you?

• Highlights videos often show penalty kicks. Should they really be shown?

• "A player's highlights reel shows only a fraction of what makes a player great." What does the speaker mean here?

• Based on this video, who do you think should win the Ballon D'Or?

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https://www.facebook.com/allsportsghana

One more award...

The Golden Athlete: the best of the rest

The Golden Athlete nominees

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo · Norway, cross-country skiing.

Entered six races at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and won all six. He now has 11 Olympic gold medals - more than any other Winter Olympian in history.

Mikaela Shiffrin · USA, alpine skiing.

The skier with the most World Cup wins ever left the 2022 Olympics with no medals, and started Milan Cortina badly too. Then she won slalom gold by an enormous 1.5 seconds.

Mondo Duplantis · Sweden, pole vault.

Broke his own world record for the 15th time in March 2026, clearing 6.31 metres - about the height of a two-storey house.

Carlos Alcaraz · Spain, tennis.

Won the Australian Open in January, beating Novak Djokovic in the final - and became the youngest man ever to win all four Grand Slam titles.

Lando Norris · UK, Formula 1.

Became world champion in December 2025, beating Max Verstappen by just two points in the last race of the season. McLaren's first champion since 2008.

Jalen Brunson · USA, basketball.

Led the New York Knicks to their first NBA title since 1973, and was named the best player of the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

Who wins the Golden Athlete?

• Which of the six had the best year? Why?

• Do any of them outshine this year's footballers?

• Is it harder to be the best in a team sport or in an individual sport?

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