The greatest football players and coaches in the world currently have two opportunities
each year to scoop up coveted individual 🔑 honours with both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA The
Best awards on the calendar.
Each ceremony recognises individuals who have made 🔑 their
mark on the game and they have proven to be a good way to measure who has shone
brightest 🔑 during specific eras.
While these are accolades any player would hope to win,
there are a few key differences between the 🔑 Ballon d'Or and FIFA's The Best.
The
Sporting News looks at what sets each award apart and which one is arguably 🔑 the bigger
deal.
MORE: Ballon d'Or 2024 winners, rankings, final awards results
What's the
difference between Ballon d'Or and FIFA The Best?
More 🔑 than just a name differentiates
these two awards. We break down some of the key points of difference below.
History
If
the 🔑 Ballon d'Or sounds more familiar that's because it has been around a lot longer
than the FIFA The Best awards.
The 🔑 first Ballon d'Or was handed out in 1956, while
FIFA's awards in their current form were only rolled out recently 🔑 in 2024.
Voting
Both
awards are decided by a very different set of voters.
Journalists from around the world
have exclusively decided the 🔑 winner of the Ballon d'Or awards, with the exception of
the 2010-2024 period, which saw a collaboration alongside FIFA (see 🔑 below).
FIFA's The
Best arguably uses a more democratic system that takes into account votes from national
team coaches, national team 🔑 captains, journalists and fans.
Schedule
Another key
difference between both awards is when the voting is held and the winners are
named.
The 🔑 Ballon d'Or is generally handed out in October and now bases its winners on
their performances across a single season.
FIFA, 🔑 however, hold their award ceremony
either at the beginning or end of a calendar year with winners judged on their
🔑 performances across that time frame. The latest Best award ceremony takes place in
January, 2024.
Trophy
Last but not least, the silverware 🔑 players take home for each
award is inevitably quite different.
The Ballon d'Or takes the form of a golden ball,
while 🔑 FIFA's The Best is a platinum trophy that resembles a smaller version of the
World Cup.
Did FIFA ever give out 🔑 the Ballon d'Or?
While FIFA now has its own,
distinctly different awards, they did once team up with French publication France
🔑 Football to hand out the Ballon d'Or.
That relationship began in 2010 and saw FIFA
shelve their World Player of the 🔑 Year award as a result. The player and coach votes,
which decided that award and now feed into The Best, 🔑 were combined with the Ballon
d'Or's ballot.
The collaboration saw the accolade renamed the 'FIFA Ballon d'Or' before
both parties went 🔑 their separate ways in 2024 and FIFA launched their own awards
promptly afterwards.
MORE: FIFA The Best all-time winners
Which players have 🔑 won both
Ballon d'Or and FIFA The Best?
Despite their many differences, both awards have often
been won by the same 🔑 players in the same years.
The only variation to date in the men's
game came in 2024 when Lionel Messi controversially 🔑 won the Ballon d'Or and Robert
Lewandowski was awarded FIFA's The Best.
Only a few votes separated the players across
both 🔑 awards with many fans and players critical of Lewandowski not taking the Ballon
d'Or.
Why Ballon d'Or is a bigger deal 🔑 than FIFA The Best
With more than 50 years of
extra history, the Ballon d'Or holds a special place in the 🔑 heart of the footballing
world as an annual tradition.
The current generation of players saw their idols lift
the golden ball 🔑 trophy, and it continues to have a real aura around it.
While FIFA has
a greater profile around the world when 🔑 compared to Ballon d'Or organisers France
Football, its The Best awards still need time to become more established as the 🔑 honour
that all players dream of from the day they lace up their boots.
"All the work I did, I
never 🔑 gave up. It was a childhood dream," Benzema said about winning the 2024 Ballon
d'Or. Another decade likely needs to 🔑 elapse before players grow up saying the same
thing about FIFA's The Best trophy.
