Explainer: How the 2026 Ballon d’Or Winner Will Be Decided

The race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or will reach its climax on October 26, when the 70th edition of the award ceremony is scheduled to hold in London.

With the nominees already announced, attention has shifted to how the winners will be selected and who will emerge with football’s most prestigious individual honour.

According to Ballon d’Or, outcome, however, will not be determined by public opinion or speculation but by a voting process organised by France Football, involving an international jury of specialist journalists.

Here is a breakdown of how the voting system works, who is eligible to vote and what happens if two players finish with the same number of points.

Who votes for the Ballon d’Or?

The winners are selected by an international jury of specialist journalists representing different countries.

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For the men’s award, the jury comprises one journalist from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings. For the women’s award, representatives come from the top 50 countries in the rankings.

The FIFA rankings in force when the nominee lists were published on September 8, 2026, determine which countries are eligible to have representatives on the jury.

The system is designed to draw votes from journalists across different countries rather than leave the decision to a single panel or football governing body.

How are the nominees selected?

Before voting begins, a shortlist of 30 players is compiled for the award.

According to the regulations, the shortlist is prepared by the editorial staff of France Football, members of the L’Équipe editorial team and at least one member of the previous edition’s jury.

The selection process also involves UEFA ambassadors. Former Portugal international Luis Figo and Italian football coach Fabio Capello participate in the selection of nominees for the men’s award, while Nadine Kessler is involved in the women’s award.

Once the shortlist has been finalised, jury members vote to determine the overall winner.

How does the voting system work?

Each jury member selects 10 players from the 30-player shortlist and ranks them in descending order of merit.

Points are then allocated according to each journalist’s ranking, with the highest-ranked player receiving 15 points and the 10th player receiving one point.

The points are distributed as follows:

First place — 15 points

Second place — 12 points

Third place — 10 points

Fourth place — 8 points

Fifth place — 7 points

Sixth place — 5 points

Seventh place — 4 points

Eighth place — 3 points

Ninth place — 2 points

Tenth place — 1 point

The points awarded by all eligible jury members are added together, and the player with the highest aggregate score wins the Ballon d’Or.

This means that the winner is determined by the combined rankings submitted by the international jury, rather than the number of journalists who simply include a player in their top 10.

What happens if two players finish level on points?

The Ballon d’Or regulations provide a procedure for resolving a tie.

If two or more players finish with the same total number of points, the first tie-breaker is the number of first-place votes each player receives.

If the players remain level, the organisers compare their second-place votes. Should the tie persist, third-place votes and subsequent rankings are considered in turn.

Any other dispute arising from the voting process will be settled by the editor-in-chief of France Football, who serves as the organiser of the award.

When will the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner be announced?

The winners are expected to be revealed at the ceremony scheduled for October 26 in London.

With the nominees announced and the voting rules established, the final outcome will depend on the points accumulated through the international jury’s rankings.

The central question now is which player will finish with the highest overall score and claim the 2026 Ballon d’Or.