Inside look at the Ballon d'Or rule changes ahead of the 2024 award ceremony

4 weeks ago 2

The winner of the 2024 Ballon d'Or award will officially be announced on October 28 at a ceremony in Paris
Vinicius Junior, Rodri and Jude Bellingham are the frontrunners for the award after stellar campaigns
Legit.ng looks at some of the rules changes the organisers effected in 2021 after Lionel Messi won his seventh title

The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner will be announced at a glitzy ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, attended by the who's who in football.

The organisers had earlier set aside Monday, October 28, as the day to crown the creme de la creme of the past year in football.

Lionel Messi, Ballon d'Or 2024, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham

Vinicius Junior is widely expected to succeed Lionel Messi and win his first Golden Ball. The Brazilian starred for Real Madrid en route to their record-extending triumphs in the Champions League and La Liga.

In 2021, L'Equipe, the magazine responsible for organising the annual gala where the best individual performances are feted, announced changes to the Ballon d'Or rules.

New Ballon d'Or rules

The French magazine enacted new changes to address some of the concerns about the criteria used to award the winners. Karim Benzema, who won the 2022 award, was the first to benefit from the new system.

1. Based on season, not year

Before the 2022 vote, the vote was always determined by performances in a calendar year - from January to December. With the new rules, the vote is based on a normal season, which normally begins in August to July of the following year.

Had the old rule still been in place, the 2022 World Cup would not have been used to determine the 2023 winner and thus, Messi would have battled it out with Benzema for the 2022 award, leaving Haaland with a clear run for last year's award.

2. Parameters used by Ballon d'Or

The Ballon d'Or has often emphasised individual performance over collective achievements.

L'Equipe reiterated this with new rules. Voters will be asked to look at how a player performed individually first before deciding what he/she achieved with his/her team. The other criteria will be the players' ability and sense of fair play.

3. Lesser votes for member countries

Previously, nearly all FIFA member countries were allowed to vote. However, this was trimmed down to only the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings and the top 50 nations in the women's vote.

4. Involvement of specialists for nominees

Normally, it used to be the editorial staff of the magazine who compiled the list of nominees. 30 players often make the cut for Ballon d'Or, with 20 others for the Kopa Trophy.

However, in 2022 and going forward, the magazine brought on board other specialists like 2012 Champions League winner Didier Drogba on board. They are expected to have a variety of specialists, plus international journalists, to help select the nominees and eventual winners.