Ballon d’Or Feminin awarded tonight – how to watch | News
Tonight is the annual Ballon d’Or awards in Paris and it’s a big night for us as both Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or Feminin while Buyako Saka is nominated for the Kopa Trophy award.
Here’s everything you need to know about the event:
What is it?
The annual event crowns the best male, female and young footballers in the world, with the male award first being presented in 1956.
In 2018, the Ballon d’Or Feminin was introduced, as was the Kopa Trophy – named after French soccer legend Raymond Kopa – awarded to the best male player under the age of 21. It was won by Barcelona’s Pedri last year.
How does it work?
For the Ballon d’Or Feminin, a single journalist from each of the top 50 countries in the FIFA World Ranking takes into account who performed best from a shortlist of 20 players during the 2021/22 season (including Euro 2022) and ranks their top 5 according to the following criteria:
- Individual service in the pre-season
- Team success last season
- Taking player behavior and fair play into account during the season
First place gets six points, second place gets four, third place gets three; fourth two and fifth a lone point.
If at the end of the scoring a player is tied on total points, the number of votes in first place will be used as a tie-breaker.
A similar scoring system is used for the Kopa Trophy, although it was chosen by previous winners of the men’s Ballon d’Or.
When is it?
The ceremony will take place on Monday at 7.30pm UK time at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris.
Supporters can stream the event for free on The L’Equipe YouTube channel.
Which of our players have been nominated?
Beth had the best WSL season of her career as she recorded 11 goals, eight assists and an incredible 72 chances – over 20 more than anyone in the league. She then capped her summer break at Euro 2022 with the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards as England’s Lionesses strode to victory at Wembley. This is her first Ballon d’Or nomination.
However, this is Viv’s third Ballon d’Or nomination. She had another outstanding season with 14 goals and eight assists, making her our top scorer for the fourth year in a row. The Dutch striker signed a new contract with us at the beginning of the summer.
Meanwhile, Bukayo scored 11 goals for us in 38 Premier League games last season, winning the Player of the Year award for the second year in a row. As part of the England team that reached the final of Euro 2020, he also helped the Three Lions qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
Who are Beth and Viv up against?
Along with Beth and Viv, Barcelona duo Alexia Putelllas – the current holders – and Aitana Bonmati, who won a domestic double, and PSG striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto are favorites for the award. Like Beth, Germany and Wolfsburg goalscorer Alexandra Popp also scored six goals at Euro 2022, while Chelsea’s Sam Kerr won the WSL and Women’s FA Cup and won the domestic Golden Boot.
Beth’s Lionness teammates Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze were also included in her 20-man shortlist:
Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Ada Hegerberg (Lyon), Alex Popp (Wolfsburg), Selam Bacha (Lyon), Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Christiane Endler (Lyon), Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg), Kadidiatou Diani (PSG) Catarina Macario (Lyon), Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Asisat Oshoala ( Barcelona), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG), Millie Bright (Chelsea), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
Who are Buyako’s fellow candidates?
Saka is one of 10 nominees, which also includes his England team-mate Jude Bellingham, one of two Borussia Dortmund players alongside Karim Adeyemi.
Two Bayern Munich players, Ryan Gravenberch and Jamal Musiala, are also included, while El Classico duo Gavi and Aduardo Camavinga are also shortlisted.
PSG’s Nuno Mendes, RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Weltz are also in contention for the trophy, which is now in its fourth year, having previously been handed to Kylian Mbappe, Matthijs De Ligt and Pedri.
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