TThe release of the Ballon d’Or shortlist naturally focused on the absence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from the men’s top 30 for the first time in 21 years, but the truly glaring omission could be found among the awards ceremony’s symbolic efforts relating to women’s football.
Even before getting to the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or Féminin, there are a couple of notable omissions. Two awards, let alone individual nominations. That’s because the organisers, France Football and UEFA, will award prizes to the best men’s goalkeeper of the year – the Yashin trophy – and the best young player of the year – the Kopa trophy – but neither of those categories have been created for the women’s game since the Ballon d’Or was expanded to recognise female footballers in 2018.
The absence of an award for women’s under-21s is a shame as it is a missed opportunity to celebrate the likes of 20-year-old Barcelona and Spain forward Salma Paralluelo, Colombia and Real Madrid winger Linda Caicedo and United States and Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson. There would be plenty of well-deserved applause for Lamine Yamal, Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho, but none for their female counterparts.
For goalkeepers like Spanish World Cup winner Cata Coll, who also won the Women’s Champions League with Barcelona, or Mary Earps, who added the FA Cup to her World Cup Golden Glove, organisers have made it clear that they are not as deserving of the recognition as Emiliano Martínez.
A Ballon d’Or spokesperson defended the award and alluded to the addition of the women’s coach of the year award this year, saying: “We have been committed to honouring women’s football since the inception of the Women’s Ballon d’Or in 2018 and we are proud of the progress that has been made so far.”
Then there’s the award date, Monday, October 28, which clashes – as it does every year – with the international break for women, meaning several female nominees will not be able to attend the ceremony in Paris.
Germany host Australia in an international friendly, so it is likely that German trio Lea Schüller, Sjoeke Nüsken and Giulia Gwinn – a tenth of the shortlist – will not be involved. Plus, most of the shortlisted players will be preparing for games scheduled for the following day, as will former Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg who could be involved in Norway’s European Championship play-off.
The organisers said: “The date for the 2024 ceremony was chosen, as every year, based on several key considerations. These included the need to await the end of the 2023-24 football season and the end of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, holding the ceremony as close as possible to the end of the 2023-24 football season, allowing sufficient time for the jury to vote while avoiding clashes with domestic football leagues in Europe (i.e. excluding Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) and weeks with European club football matches. Based on these criteria, 28 October was the only feasible date before mid-December, which we felt was too late to hold the ceremony.”
Last year, the ceremony was held 24 hours before England played their Nations League away game against Belgium, so shortlisted Lionesses, such as Georgia Stanway, were not present. This year, England play a home friendly against South Africa on October 29 and it will be up to head coach Sarina Wiegman whether those nominated – Lauren James, Lucy Bronze and Lauren Hemp – will make the cut.
The night before the awards, the United States will face Iceland in Nashville, giving the five American nominees and Icelandic and Bayern Munich defender Glódís Viggósdóttir a challenge – though not an impossible one – to get to Paris on time. The list could go on and on.
Yes, about half of the men’s nominees could be playing in domestic cups that midweek, including Rodri, one of the favourites, but none will be playing on the night of the ceremony. And the women’s international break, when players are competing around the world, is not a great time to host this event if you really care about the women’s game.
To add insult to injury for women players comes the Ballon d’Or nominations itself, and here women’s soccer followers have every right to be irritated. Fans and coaches took to social media last week to criticize the omission of U.S. defender Naomi Girma from the 30-person shortlist.
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It’s true that some of the U.S.’s gold-medal-winning appearances at the Olympics have come after the deadline – the award looks at appearances from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024 – but many were surprised that Girma didn’t make the list, given her performances for the San Diego Wave. She is widely considered the best center back in the world.
Equally important, given Keira Walsh’s pivotal role in helping Barcelona retain the Women’s Champions League title, and the England midfielder’s significant contribution to the Lionesses’ success in reaching the World Cup final in the allotted time, her omission from the list diminishes the credibility of the award.
The players were selected by France Football, with input from UEFA’s women’s football unit. The winner will be chosen by a jury of female football journalists representing the top 50 countries in the FIFA women’s football rankings.
There are other key absentees, including French striker Kadidiatou Diani, last season’s Champions League top scorer, Alex Greenwood, arguably the best defender at last summer’s World Cup, and Olga Carmona, the left-back who captained Spain to the world title and scored the winning goal in the final against England.
Perhaps that is just semantics, as there will always be debate about who might be in the 25th to 30th spots on a list of 30. However, by leaving out Girma and Walsh, both of whom would be very hard to leave out of the World XI, and strong contenders for the top prize if you ask managers and coaches around the world, it again gives the impression that this prestigious event, the great Ballon d’Or, is just lip service to women’s football.
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