Ahead of the crowning of the men's and Women's 2026 Ballon d'Or winners on Monday evening, we take a look at how the voting system for the most prestigious individual honour in football works.
Harry Kane is the odds-on favourite to become the first Englishan to scoop the accolade in a quarter-of-a-century on the back of his remarkable run of goalscoring run over the past 12 months.
But exactly what needs to happen for the Bayern Munich star to be crowned the men's Ballon d'Or winner for the first time?
Find out below...
Ballon d'Or voting format
How does voting for the Men's and Women's Ballon d'Or work?
The winners of the Men's and Women's Ballon d'Or are determined by votes from 100 of the sport's most influential and respected journalists.
A journalist from each of FIFA's top 100 ranked member nations will select their top ten picks from the 30-player (50 for women) shortlist, with each of their selections gaining a different points value / number of votes.
For example, a player who is selected as the number one choice by a specific journalist will receive the highest number of points allowed (15), with that number decreasing down to the 10th selection, who will claim one point.
Ballon d'Or voting points system
- First pick: 15 points
- Second pick: 12 points
- Third pick: 10 points
- Fourth pick: 8 points
- Fifth pick: 7 points
- Sixth pick: 5 points
- Seventh pick: 4 points
- Eighth pick: 3 points
- Ninth pick: 2 points
- Tenth pick: 1 point
Voting covers players' performances across a full season with the 2026 Ballon d'Or winners being the best two players from August 2025 through to August 2026.
The Men's and Women's players who accumulate the highest number of points from all 100 journalists votes will be crowned Ballon d'Or winners.
What is Ballon d'Or voting based on?
As per UEFA, voting for the prestigious Ballon d'Or is based upon three main criteria:
- Individual performances, decisive and impressive character
- Team performances and achievements
- Class and fair play
What if there is a tie in Ballon d'Or voting?
In the rare situation that there is a tie for first place in Ballon d'Or voting, players are separated by the number of first-place votes.
If the tie remains, they will then be separated by the number of second-placed votes, then by the number of third-placed votes and so on.
Any dispute arising from voting for the award will be decided by the editor-in-chief of France Football, who is the organiser.
What awards are presented at the Ballon d'Or ceremony?
A total of 13 awards will be handed out at the 2026 ceremony:
- Men's and Women's Ballon d'Or
- Men's and Women's Kopa Trophy (for players under 21 years old)
- Men's and Women's Yashin Trophy (for best goalkeeper)
- Men's and Women's Gerd Muller Trophy (for best striker)
- Men's and Women's Johan Cruyff Trophy (for best coach)
- Men's and Women's Club of the Year
- Socrates Award (for humanitarian and societal causes)
