Ballon d’Or 2022: When is the ceremony and when is winner announced? Tweak to Ballon d’Or award which may change outcome

The Ballon d’Or began back in 1956, whilst the women’s Ballon d’Or, which is formally known as the Ballon d’Or Feminin, started in 2018.

What is the Ballon d’Or’s purpose? To find the best player in world football, although this year will be the first time the results are based on the action from the previous season, rather than a calendar year. This is the period from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022.

Lionel Messi won the men’s 2021 Ballon d’Or whilst Alexia Putellas won the women’s award, with both set to be among the nominations again this year.

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won 12 of the last 13 Ballon d’Or, with Real Madrid’s Luka Modric bringing their run of success to a brief end in 2018.

From 1956 to 1994, the Ballon d’Or was given solely to footballers in Europe and the award was called the European Footballer of the Year.

Since 1995, non-European players at European clubs have been eligible for the prize, before it became global in 2007.

When is the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony date?

The nominations for the ceremony will be made on August 12, with the prize giving itself taking place on October 17, one month prior to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

To follow the nominations this Friday, Eurosport.co.uk will run a live blog across the whole day. To keep up to day with every nominee, every announcement and the final shortlists, follow our 2022 Ballon d’Or nominees live blog on eurosport.co.uk starting at 08:00.

When is the Ballon d’Or winner announced?

On the night of October 17, we will find out the winners of the 2022 Ballon d’Or in Paris.

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Barcelona’s Putellas are the leading contenders for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

How does the Ballon d’Or voting process work?

France Football, a highly respected football publication, will create a shortlist of 30 contenders for this year’s Ballon d’Or with 20 names for the women’s award. This is what will be announced on Friday.

After this, 180 journalists from different countries around the world will select their top five from the 30-man shortlist. The same process takes place with the women but with 50 journalists from different nations.

The players on each jury member’s list are awarded points, as follows:

First: Six points

Second: Four points

Third: Three points

Fourth: Two points

Fifth: One point

If two or more players are tied on points, the number of first-place votes they received is used as a tie-breaker.

The three main criteria when the jury member is making their decisions are: Individual and collective performance from the previous season, a player’s class and their career.

Whoever gets the most points is the winner of the Ballon d’Or.

Who will win the 2022 Ballon d’Or?

Women:

• 5. Ada Hegerberg (Lyon & Norway)
• 4. Wendie Renard (Lyon & France)
• 3. Beth Mead (Arsenal & England)
• 2. Sam Kerr (Chelsea & Australia)
• 1. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)

Men:

• 5. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid & Brazil)
• 4. Kylian Mbappe (PSG & France)
• 3. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
• 2. Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich & Senegal)
• 1. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid & France)

It’s no surprise to see Putellas and Benzema leading the way after their incredibly successful seasons.

Putellas led Barcelona to a perfect run in La Liga with the team winning all of their games, whilst Benzema played a pivotal role in Real Madrid’s league and Champions League double.