France Football cancels the Ballon d’Or. Grupo L’Équipe has announced its decision to suspend the Ballon d’Or gala at the end of the year. The editor in chief of the weekly France Football. Pascal Ferré, explained that they have made this decision due to the health crisis of COVID-19. “We believe that such a unique year cannot, and should not, be treated as an ordinary year,” said Ferré. The news of the suspension of the gala has been made official through the website of the institution and its social networks. “In sports terms, only two months (January and February), out of the eleven generally required to form an opinion and decide among the best, is too little to evaluate and judge,” the statement processed.
There will be no ceremony for the first time in history
For the first time in history since 1956, the awards will be void. It is not the only award ceremony that has been canceled due to the coronavirus. In May, FIFA canceled The Best. Ceremony was scheduled for September. The winners of the last edition will reign one more year in their category. The male or female Ballon d’Or will not be awarded, nor the Kopa trophy for the best young player, nor the Yashin trophy for the best goalkeeper. So we will have to wait until the end of 2021 to know if Messi revalidates the title of best player and manages to raise his seventh trophy. In 2019, the women’s Ballon d’Or went to Megan Rapione. Matthijs De Ligt won the Kopa trophy for the best young footballer. And the award for best goalkeeper in 2019 went to Alisson Becker.
The ideal eleven according to an expert jury
France Football cancels the Ballon d’Or, however, at the end of the year, it will announce which is the perfect team, thanks to an expert jury made up of 180 expert members. The jury will determine the ideal eleven of the year.
