The Amaury group, owner of L’Equipe and France Football, creator of the Ballon d’Or, has entered into a partnership with UEFA to co-organize the ceremony. This will have consequences on the location of the award ceremony.
The Ballon d’Or is undergoing changes. The Amaury group, owner of L’Equipe and France Football, creator of the trophy, announced on Friday the signing of a new partnership with UEFA to co-organize the ceremony for the most prestigious individual award starting next year.
The Amaury group will remain the owner of the Ballon d’Or trophy and will continue to oversee the voting process. The electoral college, composed of 100 journalists from the top 100 nations in the FIFA ranking, remains unchanged. UEFA, on the other hand, will be responsible for the commercial rights of the trophy and will co-organize the annual ceremony with the Amaury group.
Another consequence of this partnership is the location. While the annual event has been held in Paris since 2016, there will be the possibility after 2024 to organize the ceremony elsewhere in Europe. “We have discussed with Aleksander (Ceferin, UEFA president) the possibility of now doing it in other European capitals. It will not be in 2024, as we will remain in Paris for this edition. But afterwards, it could be a possibility to relocate the ceremony,” explained Jean-Étienne Amaury, CEO of the Amaury group, to L’Equipe.
Two new awards will be given
“We are very happy with this partnership to co-organize the Ballon d’Or ceremony. The trophy was created in 1956 by France Football, the same year as the creation of the European Cup of Club Champions, so there is a common history between UEFA and the Ballon d’Or trophy. The ceremony has gained worldwide significance over the past 15 years with global media coverage. Therefore, the partnership with UEFA makes perfect sense as they are one of the major players in this sport,” he added.
“It is the meeting of the two biggest brands in football. On one side, the football trophy is the Ballon d’Or, and on the other side, UEFA has the best competition in the world,” explained Alexander Ceferin, referring to the Champions League. “So there was a sense in doing something together. All players dream of winning a UEFA competition and the Ballon d’Or.”
Two new awards will also be given: Best Men’s Coach and Best Women’s Coach, which will be added to the existing eight trophies (Men’s Ballon d’Or, Women’s Ballon d’Or, Kopa Trophy for Best Young Player, Yachine Trophy for Best Goalkeeper, Gerd-Müller Trophy for Top Scorer, Men’s Club of the Year, Women’s Club of the Year, and the Socrates Award for player initiatives in society or charity).
