Ballon d’Or 2023: All you need to know about event date, venue, players nominated and more

The much-awaited Ballon d’Or 2023 awards ceremony is set to take place on Monday, October 30 as the football world eagerly anticipates the presentation of its most prestigious individual honour. Last year, Karim Benzema secured the Ballon d’Or trophy after leading Real Madrid to victories in the Champions League, La Liga, UEFA Super Cup, and Spanish Super Cup. In the women’s category, Alexia Putellas clinched the award for the second year in a row.

These annual awards, the Ballon d’Or and Ballon d’Or Féminin, have been presented by the French news magazine France Football since 1956. Argentine star footballer Lionel Messi, who boasts a record seven Ballon d’Or wins, is the frontrunner for this year’s award due to his exceptional performance in helping Argentina secure the FIFA World Cup in 2022. However, he faces strong competition from Erling Haaland of Manchester City and Kylian Mbappe of PSG. Aitana Bonmati is the top contender to win the Ballon d’Or Feminin for leading Spain to the World Cup and Barcelona to the Women’s Champion League.

The awards celebrate the outstanding performances of both male and female players in the previous season, and the winners are determined by a panel of 100 journalists representing FIFA’s top-ranked member nations. Each journalist selects their top five choices from a list of 30 players, and the players are assigned a certain number of votes based on their ranking. A higher ranking results in more votes for a player. The players who receive the most votes at the conclusion of the voting process are declared the winners of the awards.

Here are the Event details:

Date: October 30, 2023

Time: 11:30 P.M IST

Location: Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France

Television Broadcast: The Ballon d’Or 2023 ceremony will be aired live on the Sony TEN 2 and Sony TEN 2 HD TV channels in India.

Online Streaming: The Ballon d’Or 2022 ceremony will be available for live streaming on the SonyLiv and JioTV app and website in India.

Nominees for Men’s Ballon d’Or 2023:

A total of 30 names have been chosen for the 2023 ceremony which are as follows:

• Lionel Messi – Inter Miami and Argentina
• Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich and Germany
• Karim Benzema – Al Ittihad and France
• Josko Gvardiol – Manchester City and Croatia
• Mohamed Salah – Liverpool and Egypt
• Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid and England
• Bukayo Saka – Arsena and England
• Randal Kolo Muani – Paris Saint-Germain and France
• Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City and Belgium
• Bernardo Silva – Manchester City and Portugal
• Emiliano Martínez – Aston Villa and Argentina
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli and Georgia
• Rúben Dias – Manchester City and Portugal
• Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan and Argentina
• Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid and France
• Robert Lewandowski – Barcelon and Poland
• Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain and France
• Kim Min-Jae – Napoli and South Korea
• Victor Osimhen – Napoli and Nigeria
• Rodri – Manchester City and Spain 
• Harry Kane – Bayern Munich and England
• Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan and Italy
• Erling Haaland – Manchester City and Norway
• Yassine Bounou – Al Hilal and Morocco
• Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal and Norway
• Julián Álvarez – Manchester City and Argentina
• Ilkay Gündogan – Barcelona and Germany
• Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid and Brazil
• André Onana – Manchester United and Cameroon
• Luka Modric – Real Madrid and Croatia

Nominees for Women’s Ballon d’Or 2023: