Two years ago, Lionel Messi was awarded the 2021 Ballon d'Or in a controversial vote that left arguably a more deserving Robert Lewandowski empty-handed, after which the voting for the prestigious award came under serious scrutiny.
Was it merely a popularity contest among media members spread around the world? Did all those media members deserve to have a vote? What criteria were they using when selecting players for their ballots?
French publication France Football, the original creators and organizers of the annual award, revisited the entire process from nomination to the final vote and made some changes from 2022 onwards to ensure the honor remains merit-based.
Here, The Sporting News run down the changes made and how the global voting operates today.
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Who runs the Ballon d'Or award?
In 1956, the head of France Football, Gabriel Hanot, created the award as a way to recognize European players who plied their trade on the continent.
It took nearly 40 years until 1995 before the award was opened up to also include non-Europeans who featured for clubs in European countries. And finally in 2007 they opened the award to any player around the world who deserved consideration for the title of best player on the planet.
France Football has slowly evolved the award over time, and the changes they instituted after the heated debate in 2021 are merely the latest.
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Who votes for the award?
One of the changes made by France Football ahead of the 2022 award concerned the pool of voters.
In the past, a media member from each of more than 180 nations was identified to receive a ballot as a way of truly making the Ballon d'Or a global award. They were tasked with picking their top five for the men's award, for example, and then those votes were tabulated by France Football to determine the final ranking.
Beginning with the 2022 edition, France Football decided to restrict the field of nations that had a media member with a ballot. The organizers reduced that list to the top 100 countries from the FIFA men's world ranking (for the men's award), and the top 50 countries from the women's world ranking (for the women's award).
The intention was to ensure that only countries with an established football culture, where there was regular access and coverage of major leagues and competitions around the world, received a voice for the prestigious award.
What criteria are used to vote on players?
The media members receive a list of the finalists to choose from and make their selections from that select group of candidates.
In the past a player's overall career performance was taken into account by the voters. That allowed for a player like Messi to win in 2021 despite having inferior numbers to Lewandowski. The body of work throughout Messi's career helped him stand above even Lewandowski.
Recognizing this flaw in the criteria, France Football made changes, asking voters to take into account the following three aspects for every player:
- Individual performance in previous season (no longer by calendar year)
- Team success during the previous season
- Player behavior and fair play during season in consideration
The stricter parameters should ensure the player who performs at an elite level and helps their team win silverware will earn the recognition they deserve more often than not.
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Is the list of voters made public?
France Football has historically published each ballot on the weekend following the ceremony.
The ballots are completely transparent with the name of each media member, their outlet, and the players they voted for in the specific order they ranked them.
It's a list that's closely scrutinized and discussed, especially last year after the controversial naming of Messi as the 2021 winner over Lewandowski, who had the better season statistics.
Given the adjustments made to the criteria, it should prove more difficult for a player to win the award without the numbers and achievements backing them up.
How are the finalists selected?
The 2021 edition of the tournament saw 180 international journalists come up with the 30 finalists for the men's Ballon d'Or and the Yashin award finalists for goalkeepers.
Also, a group of 50 international women's soccer journalists picked the women's Ballon d'Or candidates in 2021. Lastly, a panel of 32 former Ballon d'Or winners nominated the 10 Kopa Trophy finalists (Under-21 players).
The reduction in the number of jurors is anticipated to bring more objectivity, with focus on individual excellence and who is most deserving of being the overall winner of the Ballon d'Or.