The Golden Ball will modify the rules. The system should now be fairer

The Golden Ball will undergo a radical change. It will now be awarded per season, not per calendar year. But other rules are also changing.

France Football, which announces the Ballon d’Or every year, has decided to respond to the vocal criticism. Fans have been vocal in their discontent, especially over the fact that the trophy for the best footballer went to Lionel Messi.

Up until now, the custom had been to award the Ballon d’Or for the entire calendar year. However, the organisers are hoping to make the awards for the whole season more transparent. Until now, the trophy for the best footballer was awarded for two half-seasons.

In practice, this will mean that the World Cup in Qatar, which takes place between December and November, will no longer be included in this year’s awards.

At the same time, the award should place more emphasis on individual performance than team success.

Fewer voters

Another change is that the number of voters will be adjusted. Instead of 170 journalists, only 100 will vote. France Football will thus neatly avoid votes from countries like Eritrea or Guatemala.

Votes from these exotic football countries often shuffle the final standings. Their objectivity may be in doubt.

In the last vote, for example, we saw a journalist from Guatemala include Giorgio Chiellini and Lautaro Martínez in his top five. Yet he did not bother to include, for example, Robert Lewandowski.

Source: BBC Sports