When is the 2026 Ballon d’Or, who are the favourites, and how can you watch it?
Al Jazeera Sport breaks down the award-voting criteria, top candidates and history ahead of the ceremony in London.
The Ballon d’Or, football’s most prestigious individual honour, will be awarded on Monday, with Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe among the frontrunners in the men’s category and Spain’s Alexia Putellas the favourite to pick the women’s award for the third time.
Given to the best player of the 2025-26 season, the upcoming ceremony will mark the award’s 70th edition, and the first time it is held outside France.
The Ballon d’Or is the highest individual award given to a footballer, based on his or her performance in the previous season.
In the men’s category, England’s captain Kane, who scored an incredible 73 goals last season, is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the Ballon d’Or. As of Sunday, he holds about 70 percent of the market share.