London to host 2026 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony for first time

The 70th edition of the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony will be held in London on Monday, honoring leading football stars for both individual and team achievements, and announcing the winners of its prizes, most notably the award for the world's best player.

This marks the first time the British capital will host the event, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the award, which was launched by France Football magazine in 1956. The 2026 edition is organized in collaboration with UEFA, as part of an ongoing partnership since 2024.

The shortlist for the Best Men's Player award features 30 nominees, including England's Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, and Declan Rice; Spain's Pau Cubarsí, Marc Cucurella, Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, and Ferran Torres.

Also nominated are France's Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning winner, along with compatriots Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, William Saliba, and Dayot Upamecano; Brazilians Gabriel Magalhães, Marquinhos, and Vinícius Júnior; and Portuguese players Bruno Fernandes, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, and Vitinha.

The list also includes Morocco's Achraf Hakimi; Argentinians Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez; Colombia's Luis Díaz; Norway's Erling Haaland; Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia; Senegal's Sadio Mané; Ecuador's Willian Pacho; and Mexico's Julián Quiñones.

Five coaches are nominated for the Best Men's Coach award: Spain's Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Luis de la Fuente (Spain national team), Unai Emery (Aston Villa), and Belgium's Vincent Kompany (Bayern Munich).

Contenders for the Best Women's Coach award are Jonathan Giráldez, André Jeglertz, Nils Nielsen, Pere Romeu, and Elena Sadiku.

For the Best Goalkeeper award, Morocco's Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia) is nominated alongside Belgium's Thibaut Courtois, Spain's Juan García, Switzerland's Gregor Kobel, Argentina's Emiliano Martínez, Senegal's Édouard Mendy, Spain's David Raya, Russia's Matvei Safonov, Cape Verde's Vozinha, and Spain's Unai Simón.

The nominees for Best Men's Club are Arsenal (England), Bayern Munich (Germany), Bodø/Glimt (Norway), Flamengo (Brazil), and Paris Saint-Germain (France). Competing for Best Women's Club are Barcelona (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), Club América (Mexico), Manchester City (England), and Olympique Lyonnais (France).

Ten players are in the running for Best Young Player, including Spain's Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí (both Barcelona), France's Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain), Ayoub Bouaddi, Germany's Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), and Algeria's Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen).

Nominees for Best Young Women's Player include the Netherlands' Verle Bormans, Spain's Vicky López and Clara Serrahima, Sweden's Felicia Schröder, and the USA's Lily Yohannes.

For Best Women's Goalkeeper, the nominees are Germany's Ann-Katrin Berger, Spain's Cata Coll, England's Hannah Hampton, Brazil's Lorena, and Japan's Ayaka Yamashita.