Say Goodbye to the FIFA Ballon d'Or - New Format Announced

Update: As expected, France Football has confirmed the changes it will make to the Ballon d'Or starting with the 61st edition.

• The winner will be elected by a panel of journalists from all parts of the globe, national team captains and coaches will be no longer eligible to vote
• Votes will be cast from a list of 30 candidates (currently: 23)
• The 'three finalists' will not be announced before the final ranking
• The winner and final ranking will be confirmed before the end of the year

The FIFA Ballon d'Or will be history from next year. France Football, the French magazine that created the original Ballon d'Or award and joined forces with FIFA in 2010, has announced that this agreement will not be extended beyond this year's award.

Ballon d'Or to Return to Original Format

France Football also confirmed that it would announce how the new Ballon d'Or will be awarded in next week's issue. It is expected that the award will return to the rules it had before being under FIFA oversight. This would mean that from the 2017 edition, to be awarded in early 2018, players and coaches would not be eligible to vote anymore, with a group of journalists deciding the winner of the Ballon d'Or award.

Since it merged with FIFA's World Player of the Year award in 2010, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won the Ballon d'Or. The importance and popularity of the award also rose significantly during that period.

It is expected that FIFA will continue to award the best player under the old name of the award, and likely with the same rules as the current FIFA Ballon d'Or.

Share your thoughts below.