Paris – The Ballon d’O or ceremony to grant the most coveted individual honors in football finally has a better date for nominated women to be there.
The awards for 2025 will be presented on September 22 in Paris, UEFA said Monday.
This time, the ceremony does not clash with Dates of international matches in women’s football When players are in mandatory service in the camp with national teams.
“We are proud to expand our recognition to include three new categories that celebrate the achievements of the players,” said UEFA, who since then has jointly organized the historical event with the publishing house that has the magazine “France Football”.
The players and coaches criticized the organizers in each of the last two years, when most could not be in Paris for the gala ceremony in a center theater.
Those ceremonies were in October 30, 2023 and October 28, 2024 – Monday night in weeks in which there were no male games in the Champions League or for national teams.
September 22 is a Monday again in a free week for the Champions League, there are no classification games for the 2026 World Cup. And neither for women.
The winners of Ballon d’Or last year were from Spain: Manchester City Rodri and the creator of Barcelona Aitana Bonmatí games. She also won the previous year.
The new categories for women will recognize the best young player, the best goalkeeper and the top scorer for the club/national team.
The nominations for the 2025 awards will be announced in August, said UEFA.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
