The Ballon d’Or award ceremony is scheduled for September 22 this year, marking the first time an equal number of awards will be presented to both women and men, organizers announced on Monday.
New categories have been introduced for women, including awards for Best Goalkeeper, Best Young Player, and Top Scorer in club or national competitions.
These additions bring the total to six awards each for male and female players at the event, which will be held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. An additional honor, the Socrates Award, recognizing actions that promote solidarity, will be open to both men and women.
The list of nominees is set to be revealed in early August.
Last year’s ceremony faced controversy when Real Madrid boycotted the event upon learning that their forward, Vinicius Junior, did not win the Best Men’s Player award, which was instead awarded to Manchester City’s Rodri.