The Ballon d'Or, established in 1956, is one of the most prestigious individual football awards that can be won by a player each year, and the famous award returns for the 67th year in 2023.
Karim Benzema is the incumbent recipient of the award, while Lionel Messi, who is reportedly going to be named the winner, is going to battle for this year’s accolade alongside the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
Meanwhile, Messi’s eternal rival and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo did not receive a nomination, but recent winners Luka Modric and Benzema are in the running.
Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen is also among the nominees but his chances of winning the award are not exactly feasible.
In the women’s category, Spain’s World Cup winner Aitana Bonmati is the red-hot favourite to succeed her international team-mate, Alexia Putellas, having won the Golden Ball at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
HERE ARE ALL THE BALLON D'OR NOMINEES! 🌕✨#ballondor pic.twitter.com/hg1ZByzhDV
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) September 6, 2023
Here, we take a quick glance at the 2023 Ballon d'Or award ceremony, including how to watch it, especially for Nigerian fans, and the other awards available to be won in Paris later today.
When is the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony?
The event is to be staged at Theatre du Chatelet, Paris and it kicks off at 7 pm (Red Carpet) – Nigerian Time. Chelsea legend Didier Drogba will anchor the event in the French Capital.
Where to watch the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony in Nigeria?
Football fans keen to watch the 2023 Ballon d'Or in Nigeria can do so for free on L'Equipe's official YouTube channel (streaming).
As for TV, no channel has been licensed to televise the award live as of the time of writing,
Ballon d’Or 2023: Who is nominated for the men’s award?
Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig and Manchester City)
Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and Al-Ittihad)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt and Paris Saint-Germain)
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City and Barcelona)
Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal)
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
Rodrigo (Manchester City)
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Kim Min-jae (Napoli and Bayern Munich)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-German)
Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich)
Ballon d’Or Féminin 2023 nominees
Daphne Van Domselaar (Twente and Aston Villa)
Lena Oberdorf (Vfl Wolfsburg)
Hinata Miyazawa (MyNavi Sendai)
Millie Bright (Chelsea)
Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona)
Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns)
Hayley Raso (Manchester City and Real Madrid)
Amanda Ilestedt (Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal)
Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich)
Olga Carmona (Real Madrid)
Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona)
Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)
Alba Redondo (Levante)
Lina Caicedo (Real Madrid)
Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais)
Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona)
Ewa Pajor (Vfl Wolfsburg)
Guro Reiten (Chelsea)
Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
Debinha (North Carlina Courage and Kansas City Current)
Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)
Alexandra Popp (Vfl Wolfsburg)
Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
Jill Roord (Vfl Wolfsburg and Manchester City)
Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais)
Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
Mary Earps (Manchester United)
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (Manchester City)
Mapi Leon (Barcelona)
Who is shortlisted for the Yashin Trophy?
Brice Samba (Lens)
Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb and Fenerbahce)
Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Ederson (Manchester City)
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal)
Nominees for the Kopa Trophy
Xavi (RB Leipzig / PSV Eindhoven)
Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern)
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund / Real Madrid)
Alejandro Balde (FC Barcelona)
Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
Gavi (FC Barcelona)
Rasmus Höjlund (Atalanta / Manchester United)
Pedri (FC Barcelona)
Antonio Silva (Benfica)
Elye Wahi (HSC Montpellier / RC Lens)
How winners of the award are decided?
Men's Ballon d'Or
The FIFA rankings are used to select a panel of journalists from the top 100 football nations and they will vote on the men's Ballon d'Or award. Each nation has one journalist representative who votes on the international ballot.
Women's Ballon d'Or
Similarly, the Ballon d'Or Feminin is decided by an international panel of journalists. However, it is a panel of 50 – one journalist from each of the top 50 nations.
Kopa Trophy
The winner of the Kopa trophy is decided by a jury of Ballon d'Or winners.
Yashin Trophy
Like the Ballon d’Or, the Yashin Trophy winner is decided by a panel of 100 journalists.
This article was most recently revised and updated 7 hours ago
