Ballon d'Or 2026: Ceremony Time, TV, Favourites and Voting Explained

Ballon d'Or 2026: London Palladium hosts Monday's ceremony at 8pm with Harry Kane now favourite

The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony takes place in London for the first time ever on Monday October 26, staged at the London Palladium in Soho from 8pm. Harry Kane has replaced Lamine Yamal as the bookies' favourite for the men's prize, while Alexia Putellas leads the women's market.

Date and time: Monday October 26, ceremony starting at 8pm
Venue: London Palladium theatre in Soho, London — the first time the ceremony has been held in London
Men's favourite: Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane, now ahead of Lamine Yamal
Women's favourite: London City Lionesses and Spain star Alexia Putellas
Voting window: Performances judged from August 3 2025 to July 19 2026
Anniversary: This year marks the 70th edition of the award

What is the Ballon d'Or?

The Ballon d'Or was created in 1956 by two sports writers from France Football, the French magazine, and is awarded to the best men's and women's player in world football. France Football remain the organisers of the award and of the voting, with the ceremony co-organised alongside UEFA.

The prize originally crowned the best men's player from Europe. In 1995 it expanded to include non-Europeans playing on the continent, and it became a global award in 2007. The Women's Ballon d'Or was introduced in 2018, with Ada Hegerberg, then of Lyon, the inaugural winner.

This year's ceremony marks the 70th anniversary of the award and is being staged in London as a tribute to the inaugural winner, England's Stanley Matthews.

Who are the Ballon d'Or 2026 favourites?

Barcelona and Spain winger Lamine Yamal had been odds-on to win this year's men's prize, but Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane has now taken his place as the bookies' favourite. The two have traded places in the market, which points to an extremely close vote.

For the women's award, London City Lionesses and Spain star Alexia Putellas is the clear frontrunner. Her former Barcelona team-mates Ewa Pajor and Aitana Bonmati, the previous winner, are closest behind her with the bookmakers.

How does the voting work?

Players are judged on their performances across the whole of last season, from August 3 2025 until July 19 2026. The award is decided across three criteria, listed in descending order of importance: individual performances and decisive, impressive character; collective performances and titles won; and class and fair play.

Winners are voted for by an international jury of specialised journalists. For the men's prize, one journalist represents every country in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings; for the women's award, it is one journalist for each nation in the top 50. The rankings used are those in effect on September 8 2026.

Each juror picks 10 players from the 30-player shortlist in descending order of preference. The shortlist itself is chosen by France Football's editorial staff, members of L'Equipe's editorial staff, one juror from the previous edition, and UEFA ambassadors Luis Figo and Fabio Capello for the men's trophy and Nadine Kessler for the women's trophy.

The numbers

Points awarded per juror: 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for first through tenth place
Men's shortlist: 30 players
Men's jury: one journalist from each of the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations
Women's jury: one journalist from each of the top 50 FIFA-ranked nations
Closest modern margin: seven points, when Virgil van Dijk finished runner-up to Lionel Messi in 2019
Messi's record: eight Ballon d'Or wins, with Cristiano Ronaldo on five

The player with the highest total of points wins. If two players finish level, the number of first-place votes breaks the tie, then second-place votes and so on. Any dispute from the vote is settled by the editor-in-chief of France Football.

History and the closest votes

Paris Saint-Germain and France star Ousmane Dembele is the reigning men's winner. The prize has gone to a different player in each of the last four editions, with Rodri, Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema also taking home the golden ball in that run.

Before that, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated for 13 years, save for 2018 when Luka Modric won. Between 2008 and 2017 the pair were the only players to win the award, and Messi's eight titles remain a record ahead of Ronaldo's five.

France legend Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985) is one of three players to win the Ballon d'Or three times, along with Dutch duo Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten. England's Kevin Keegan, who died earlier this year aged 75, won it twice — one of five players to do so alongside Brazilian Ronaldo, Spain's Alfredo Di Stefano and Germany duo Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Under the current voting structure, in place since 2016, the closest runner-up was Van Dijk in 2019, losing to Messi by a seven-point margin. Messi also edged Robert Lewandowski by 33 points in 2021, while Vinicius Junior finished 105 points behind Rodri in 2024.

Who is nominated for the Men's Ballon d'Or?

The published shortlist includes Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona and Spain), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea/Real Madrid and Spain), Ousmane Dembele (PSG and France), Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich and Colombia) and Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United and Portugal), among the 30 names in contention.

Can Kane end England's wait?

Kane is aiming to become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or since 2001 and the fifth in history. Four players from England have won it: Matthews in 1956, Sir Bobby Charlton in 1966, Keegan in 1978 and 1979, and Michael Owen in 2001. The United Kingdom has had six winners in total, with Northern Ireland's George Best in 1968 and Scotland's Denis Law in 1964.

What is the vote for your BOAT?

Fans are being asked to vote for their Ballon d'Or Of All Time. Anyone can log in to the Ballon d'Or website to choose which past winner they believe was the best, but they can only pick from the 10 players who have won the golden ball at least twice. Those who pay the €1 fee to cast a vote earn a chance at tickets to next year's ceremony.

Which other awards are up for grabs?

Six other prizes are presented on the night. The Men's and Women's Young Talent of the Year, first named the Kopa Trophy, celebrates the stand-out players under 21 and is voted on exclusively by former Ballon d'Or winners, who cast a top-three vote worth 5, 3 and 1 points.

The Men's and Women's Goalkeeper of the Year, formerly the Lev Yashin Trophy in honour of the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or, uses the same voting system as the main trophies. The Men's and Women's Coach of the Year was previously named the Johan Cruyff Trophy after the great Barcelona head coach.

The Men's and Women's Striker of the Year, initially the Gerd Muller Trophy, goes to the player with the most goals in the past season across all competitive matches. The Men's and Women's Club of the Year recognises collective excellence, style of play, results exceeding expectations and titles secured, with the jury of journalists deciding and Ballon d'Or nominee count as the tie-breaker. The Socrates Award, inspired by the Brazil legend, celebrates humanitarian work, charity projects and social solidarity initiatives off the pitch.

Why the London staging matters for the Premier League

Holding the ceremony at the London Palladium puts English football at the centre of the global awards conversation for a night. With Harry Kane now the bookies' favourite, the optics are unusually favourable: England's captain is the headline name in a building named after the country's first winner, Stanley Matthews.

That is not merely sentimental. The voting window runs from August 3 2025 to July 19 2026, so this is a judgement of a completed season rather than current form — which is why Kane's standing reflects the whole campaign, not the October table. The market shift away from Lamine Yamal suggests jurors weighted decisive individual output and silverware heavily, exactly the order the criteria demand.

In the women's race, Alexia Putellas being listed with London City Lionesses shows how quickly the domestic game's footprint has shifted. A Spanish star at an English club as clear frontrunner, with former Barcelona team-mates Ewa Pajor and Aitana Bonmati behind her, gives the ceremony a genuine Premier League-adjacent storyline alongside the men's vote.

Talking points

Kane being favourite over Yamal with the bookies is a meaningful indicator of how journalists weigh trophies against individual brilliance — but bookies are not jurors, and the seven-point 2019 margin shows how tight this can get.
The three-tier criteria put individual performances first, which arguably penalises players in stronger collective sides. Is that the right order for a global award?
Cucurella's listing as Chelsea/Real Madrid underlines how the shortlist spans club movement; jurors judge the season, not the current squad list.
A €1 fan vote for the all-time prize is a clever ticketing hook, but does paying to vote undermine the credibility of a supporters' award?

What happens next

All seven trophies are decided and presented on Monday October 26 from 8pm at the London Palladium. The ballot closes with the ceremony, the all-time fan vote runs through the Ballon d'Or website at €1 per entry with tickets to next year's event as the incentive, and the winners across the men's and women's categories are confirmed on the night.

Frequently asked questions

What time is the Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony?

The ceremony at the London Palladium in Soho begins at 8pm on Monday October 26.

Who is favourite to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or?

Harry Kane is now the bookies' favourite for the men's prize after replacing Lamine Yamal, while Alexia Putellas is the clear frontrunner for the women's award.