Ballon d’Or nominees to be revealed on September 8. Barcelona could feature across several lists

The organisers of the Ballon d’Or have published the schedule for the 70th edition of the awards. The nominees in every category will be revealed on Tuesday, September 8. For Barcelona, it could be a day filled with familiar names, from Lamine Yamal and Raphinha to members of the club’s women’s team.

THIRTY NAMES AND THE FIRST WAVE OF EXCITEMENT

The shortlists for the two main awards will traditionally attract the most attention. The organisers will announce 30 nominees for both the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or.

The official lists will not be revealed until September 8, so all earlier rankings, betting odds and predictions should be treated purely as speculation. Nobody has been nominated yet. For now, there are only achievements, famous names and dozens of attempts to guess what the jury will decide.

Barcelona nevertheless have reason to expect strong representation. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are regularly mentioned in discussions surrounding the leading individual awards. The club can also hope for nominees in the women’s vote and several of the other categories.

MUCH MORE THAN THE MAIN BALLON D’OR

All the remaining shortlists will be published on the same day. Ten candidates will be selected for the men’s young player award, alongside five nominees in the women’s category.

The organisers will also reveal the candidates for the goalkeeper, coach, striker and club awards. The shortlists will contain:

• 30 male players and 30 female players,
• 10 young male players and 5 young female players,
• 10 male goalkeepers and 5 female goalkeepers,
• 5 coaches in each category,
• 10 male strikers and 5 female strikers,
• 5 clubs in both the men’s and women’s categories.

In practical terms, Barcelona could feature in announcements throughout much of the day. The club have potential candidates not only for the main prizes, but also for awards recognising young talent, goalscoring and collective achievements.

BARCELONA HAVE TITLES TO DEFEND

The previous edition was particularly successful for Barcelona. Aitana Bonmatí won the women’s Ballon d’Or, Lamine Yamal was named the best young male player, Vicky López won the corresponding women’s award and Ewa Pajor received the prize for the best female striker.

This time, the first step will simply be securing places on the official shortlists. The men’s vote promises to be especially interesting, with performances for both club and country expected to carry significant weight.

Barcelona’s leading names should appear prominently in media predictions. The final decision, however, will not be made by the internet, a statistics table or the number of highlight videos set to dramatic music. It will be made by an international jury of journalists.

THE JURY WILL CONSIDER MORE THAN NUMBERS

The men’s jury will include representatives from the top 100 countries in the FIFA ranking. In the women’s vote, journalists representing the top 50 nations will take part.

Three main criteria will be considered: individual and decisive performances, collective achievements and trophies, and class and fair play both on and off the pitch.

Each voter will rank ten players. First place will be worth 15 points, while tenth place will receive one. The accumulated totals will determine the winners.

FROM PARIS TO LONDON

The ceremony will take place in London on October 26. It will be the first Ballon d’Or gala to be staged in the English capital.

The choice of location is deliberate. The 70th edition will honour Stanley Matthews, who became the first winner of the France Football award in 1956.

Before the race for a place on the London stage begins, every candidate must first make the shortlist. Barcelona will discover on September 8 how many of their representatives are officially in contention. After the club’s success in the previous edition, expectations were never going to be modest.