Fans around the world are waiting patiently for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award ceremony.
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.
Lionel Messi is strongly rumored to be the winner of the upcoming edition, beating the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to win the award for a record 8th time.
In the women’s category, Spain’s World Cup winner Aitana Bonmati is the red-hot favourite to win the award following her exploits at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
As for the Kopa Trophy, Jude Bellingham – who has been an instant hit for Real Madrid – is expected to take home the award, while the Yashin Trophy remains a tight contest between the likes of Emi Martinez, Ederson and Andre Onana.
🚨 Jude Bellingham is the Golden Boy winner for 2023. He completely dominated the voting.
(Source: @marca) pic.twitter.com/6NNg2WNp7a
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) October 29, 2023
Here, we take a quick glance at the 2023 Ballon d'Or award ceremony, including how to watch it, especially for South African fans, and the other awards available to be won.
When is the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony?
The 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony will be staged at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, on Monday, October 30, 2023.
It is due to begin at 6 pm GMT in the UK, which means viewers in South Africa should be prepared to tune in at 8 pm (South African Standard Time).
Where to watch the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony in South Africa?
Football fans across South Africa keen to watch the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony 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 nominees
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)
Other awards – Yashin Trophy and Kopa Trophy
Manchester City’s Ederson, Emi Martinez of Aston Villa, and Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United) are the leading candidates for the Yashin Trophy.
Other contenders include Brice Samba (Lens), Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb and Fenerbahce), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal).
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund / Real Madrid) is the overwhelming candidate to win the Kopa Trophy after he continued his great run with Real Madrid since making the switch in the summer.
Other candidates include Xavi (RB Leipzig / PSV Eindhoven), Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern), 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).
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 hours ago
