The winner of the 2026 Ballon d’Or will be announced on Monday evening at the annual gala hosted by France Football.
Held in London this year to honor the first winner of the award 70 years ago, last year’s men’s winner Ousmane Dembele is amongst the nominees for this year’s award, but a new winner is expected to be named.
Amongst the potential winners are England striker Harry Kane, Spain wonderkid Lamine Yamal, and France sensation Kylian Mbappe.
On the women’s side, last year’s winner Aitana Bonmati is not amongst this year’s nominees thanks to a long-term injury that kept her out for much of last year, meaning a new winner will be crowned. That puts her Spain teammate Alexia Putellas in the limelight to potentially win her third award, while Alessia Russo of England and Khadija Shaw of Jamaica could be contenders as well.
The Sporting News takes you through all the information you need to follow the award ceremony.
Ballon d’Or live stream, TV channel for 2026 award ceremony
Here’s how to watch the 2026 Ballon d’Or in the U.S.:
TV channel: None
Live stream: DAZN, Paramount+, L’Equipe YouTube channel
The 2025 Ballon d’Or will not be available to watch on live TV in the US. However, fans can stream it live on DAZN.
The broadcast is also available to stream on Paramount+, as their CBS Sports hosts for Champions League coverage, Kate Scott and Thierry Henry, will host the event.
Paramount+ combines the best content from the worlds of sports, news and entertainment, including the NFL, UFC, March Madness, UEFA Champions League and more. You can stream live events as well as thousands of hours of shows and movies.
What time is the Ballon d’Or?
The 2026 Ballon d’Or award gala will take place from the London Palladium Theatre on Monday, September 22 at 8 pm GMT.
Normally the ceremony takes place at the Theatre du Chatlet in Paris, France, but the event is being held in the English capital this year in honor of the 70th anniversary of the award and its first-ever winner, English star Sir Stanley Matthews.
Here’s how that time translates across the U.S., keeping in mind that Europe observed Daylight Savings Time a week before the United States:
| Date | Start Time | |
| Eastern Time | Mon, Oct. 26 | 4:00 p.m. |
| Central Time | Mon, Oct. 26 | 3:00 p.m. |
| Mountain Time | Mon, Oct. 26 | 2:00 p.m. |
| Pacific Time | Mon, Oct. 26 | 1:00 p.m. |
2026 Ballon d’Or list of nominees, awards
The names in the running for all the prizes on offer at the gala, including the Ballon d’Or awards for men and women, were announced on September 8.
2026 men’s Ballon d’Or shortlist
The following 30 players were officially nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or in 2026.
| Player | Pos | Nationality | Club (Nation) | Age |
| Jude Bellingham | CM | England | Real Madrid (ESP) | 23 |
| Pau Cubarsi | CB | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 19 |
| Marc Cucurella | LB | Spain | Chelsea (ENG) / Real Madrid (ESP) | 28 |
| Ousmane Dembele | FWD | France | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 29 |
| Luis Diaz | FWD | Colombia | Bayern Munich (GER) | 29 |
| Bruno Fernandes | CM | Portugal | Manchester United (ENG) | 32 |
| Gabriel | CB | Brazil | Arsenal | 28 |
| Erling Haaland | FWD | Norway | Manchester City (ENG) | 26 |
| Achraf Hakimi | RB | Morocco | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 27 |
| Harry Kane | FWD | England | Bayern Munich (GER) | 33 |
| Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | FWD | Georgia | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 25 |
| Lamine Yamal | FWD | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 19 |
| Sadio Mane | FWD | Senegal | Al Nassr (KSA) | 34 |
| Marquinhos | CB | Brazil | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 32 |
| Lautaro Martinez | FWD | Argentina | Inter Milan (ITA) | 28 |
| Kylian Mbappe | FWD | France | Real Madrid (ESP) | 27 |
| Nuno Mendes | LB | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 24 |
| Lionel Messi | FWD | Argentina | Inter Miami (USA) | 39 |
| Joao Neves | CM | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 21 |
| Michael Olise | FWD | France | Bayern Munich (GER) | 24 |
| Willian Pacho | CB | Ecuador | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 24 |
| Julian Quinones | FWD | Mexico | Al Qadsia (KSA) | 29 |
| Declan Rice | CM | England | Arsenal (ENG) | 26 |
| Rodri | CM | Spain | Manchester City (ENG) / Barcelona (ESP) | 30 |
| Fabian Ruiz | CM | Spain | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 29 |
| William Saliba | CB | France | Arsenal (ENG) | 25 |
| Ferran Torres | FWD | Spain | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) / Barcelona (ESP) | 26 |
| Dayot Upamecano | CB | France | Bayern Munich (GER) | 27 |
| Vinicius Jr. | FWD | Brazil | Real Madrid (ESP) | 26 |
| Vitinha | CM | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 25 |
2026 women’s Ballon d’Or shortlist
The following 30 players were officially nominated for the women’s Ballon d’Or in 2026.
| Player | Pos | Nationality | Club (Nation) | Age |
| Selma Bacha | LB | France | Lyon (FRA) | 25 |
| Barbara Banda | FWD | Zambia | Orlando Pride (USA) | 26 |
| Klara Buhl | FWD | Germany | Bayern Munich (GER) | 25 |
| Esmee Brugts | LB | Netherlands | Chelsea (ENG) | 23 |
| Mariona Caldentey | ACM | Spain | Arsenal (ENG) | 30 |
| Scarlett Camberos | FWD | Mexico | Club America (MEX) | 25 |
| Kerstin Casparij | RB | Netherlands | Manchester City (ENG) | 26 |
| Temwa Chawinga | FWD | Malawi | Kansas City Current (USA) | 27 |
| Cata Coll | GK | Barceloan (ESP) | 25 | |
| Melchie Dumornay | FWD | Haiti | Lyon (FRA) | 23 |
| Caroline Graham Hansen | FWD | Norway | Barcelona (ESP) | 30 |
| Alex Greenwood | DEF | England | Manchester City (ENG) | 33 |
| Patri Guijarro | CM | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 28 |
| Pernille Harder | FWD | Denmark | Bayern Munich (GER) | 33 |
| Yui Hasegawa | CM | Japan | Manchester City (ENG) | 29 |
| Rose Lavelle | CM | USA | Gotham FC (USA) | 31 |
| Mapi Leon | DEF | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) / London City Lionesses (ENG) | 31 |
| Lorena | GK | Brazil | Kansas City Current (USA) | 29 |
| Melvine Malard | FWD | France | Manchester United (ENG) / Chelsea (ENG) | 26 |
| Manaka Matsukubo | MID | Japan | North Carolina Courage (USA) / Chelsea (ENG) | 22 |
| Vivianne Miedema | FWD | Netherlands | Manchester City (ENG) | 30 |
| Ewa Pajor | FWD | Poland | Barcelona (ESP) | 29 |
| Claudia Pina | FWD | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 25 |
| Alexia Putellas | MID | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) / London City Lionesses (ENG) | 32 |
| Wendie Renard | CB | France | Lyon (FRA) | 36 |
| Alessia Russo | FWD | England | Arsenal (ENG) | 27 |
| Khadija Shaw | FWD | Jamaica | Manchester City (ENG) | 29 |
| Momoko Tanikawa | MID | Japan | Bayern Munich (GER) | 21 |
| Caroline Weir | CM | Scotland | Real Madrid (ESP) / Lyon (FRA) | 31 |
| Tessa Wullaert | FWD | Belgium | Inter Milan (ITA) / Como (ITA) | 33 |
