What is Ballon d’Or 2025 awards ceremony? How to vote for players; all you need to know

The Ballon d'Or 2025 awards ceremony is set to take place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, celebrating the best talent in football from the 2024/25 season. This year's event is scheduled for 9:00 PM CET, September 22 (September 23, 12:30 AM IST for Indian viewers). There are significant changes and new categories introduced to further spotlight global footballing achievements.

What is the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony?

The Ballon d'Or, organized by France Football since 1956, is regarded as the top individual accolade in world football. It recognizes outstanding performances and exceptional talent.

The 69th ceremony in 2025 will honour both male and female stars with equal categories, reflecting the ever-growing importance of women’s football, and includes special recognition for humanitarian contributions in the sport.

Details about the Award categories for 2025

The 2025 edition presents 13 awards, signifying a new era. They are as follows:

Men's Ballon d'Or (Best Male Footballer)

Men's Kopa Trophy (Best Male Young Player)

Men's Yashin Trophy (Best Male Goalkeeper)

Men's Gerd Müller Trophy (Male Top Scorer)

Men's Johan Cruyff Trophy (Best Male Coach)

Men's Club of the Year Trophy

Women's Ballon d'Or (Best Female Footballer)

Women's Kopa Trophy (Best Female Young Player) - new for 2025

Women's Yashin Trophy (Best Female Goalkeeper) - new for 2025

Women's Gerd Müller Trophy (Female Top Scorer) - new for 2025

Women's Johan Cruyff Trophy (Best Female Coach)

Women's Club of the Year Trophy

Socrates Award (Humanitarian Contribution)

How does the voting process work?

An international jury of sports journalists selects the winners, following a transparent and criteria-based system. For the men’s Ballon d'Or, votes come from 100 journalists from the world’s top 100-ranked football nations.

On the other hand, for the women’s award, 50 journalists from the top 50 FIFA women's nations take part.

Each juror selects their top 10 players from a shortlist of 30 nominees, awarding points based on rank.

Key criteria for selection are -

1. Individual performances throughout the season.

2. Team achievements and contributions.

3. Demonstration of class and fair play on and off the field.

The player with the highest aggregate points across all votes is declared the winner.

The points system

Every journalist awards points based on their ranking of the top 10 players.

1st place: 15 points

2nd place: 12 points

3rd place: 10 points

4th place: 8 points

5th place: 7 points

6th place: 5 points

7th place: 4 points

8th place: 3 points

9th place: 2 points

10th place: 1 point

The player with the most total points from all jurors becomes the Ballon d’Or winner. If two or more players finish with the same points, the number of first-place selections is used to break the tie, followed by second-place, and so forth if needed.