Ballon d'Or should be a celebration, but for the women's game, it's a disgrace

Another year, another Ballon d’Or ceremony. And, once again, the voices within the women’s football community find themselves echoing past frustrations.

Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí won the main prize again, but the prestigious event, which should celebrate the pinnacle of football achievement, remains steeped in a troubling history of disrespect towards the women’s game. Instead of progressing, it feels as though the ceremony is trapped in a cycle that undermines the extraordinary talent and dedication of female athletes.

When Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural award in 2018, she was asked if she could twerk on stage by French DJ Martin Solveig, a moment publicly criticised by tennis star Andy Murray, among others. In 2023, when Bonmatí won, tennis player Novak Djokovic — known for his opposition to equal pay in sports — was chosen to present the award. It was a slap in the face to those who support women’s sports when, if someone had to be involved from the world of tennis, options like Murray or Billie Jean King could have been considered.

This year, actor Natalie Portman, one of the many co-owners of the NWSL‘s Angel City, presented Bonmatí with her second Ballon d’Or. Perhaps it’s baby steps to create a slightly more inclusive and equal footing, given she is an advocate of the sport, but men’s winners are often handed their awards by football legends — George Weah presented Rodri with his, for example — which suggests a serious lack of effort from the organisers.

And if you look at the scheduling of the ceremony, the disrespect gets worse.

Since the women’s Ballon d’Or category was introduced in 2018, the event has consistently been scheduled during a women’s international break — often a day before critical qualifiers or long-planned friendlies.

England‘s Georgia Stanway — who placed 23rd last year and was not nominated this term — highlighted this oversight when few nominees were able to attend in October 2023. “Yeah it really is [frustrating] because it’s potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said. “You never know if you’re ever going to get selected for such an accolade like that again, so it would be really nice to enjoy the experience and be there and feel like a star among the stars. If it was planned a little bit better, then it would be easier for a lot of female footballers to be there.”

This year, England manager Sarina Wiegman was nominated for the inaugural Women’s Coach of the Year award but couldn’t be there in person. “Of course, that’s really disappointing, because that’s a moment to celebrate women’s football and to come together as a whole community in the women’s football game, and the whole football world,” she told a news conference on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s friendly against South Africa. “You want to be there, but we have a job to do, and we’re here. It would be really helpful if that [the ceremony] could be planned on another date.”

Former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes won Coach of the Year — based on her fifth consecutive Women’s Super League title, before leading the United States women’s national team to Olympic gold just three months into her tenure — but Hayes, and five U.S. nominees, couldn’t attend the ceremony either.

Only a handful of the 30 short-listed players were actually present, including Barcelona’s Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen, Salma Paralluelo and Alexia Putellas, Tigres UANL’s Jenni Hermoso (who won the Socrates Award for humanitarian work; more on that later), and Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey. That was the shocking extent of the representatives for women’s football.

If no men’s nominees were at the Ballon d’Or due to scheduling conflicts, there would be an outcry. So why is it acceptable for the women’s game? Who is responsible for this oversight? And who will step up and make it right? Every year, the issue is highlighted … yet nothing changes.

Although the event is meant to celebrate achievements in both men’s and women’s football, the women’s game often feels like an afterthought. As former nominee Beth Mead said last year: “It was a tick-box to have women there, but they weren’t doing it right.”

The first women’s Ballon d’Or was awarded 62 years after the men’s, which began in 1956 at a time when women’s football was still banned in many places. But even when it was introduced, the nominee list was limited to 20 names, unlike the men’s 30. It took until the 2023 edition to correct that discrepancy. But others are still there.

In the men’s award, there is the Kopa Trophy for best young players and Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, but no equivalent awards exist for women. Some argue that the talent pool in women’s football is smaller at the highest level, but this seems a flimsy excuse given the sport’s rapid growth in recent years.

Notably, the Kopa Trophy was only introduced for the men in 2018 and the Yashin Trophy in 2019. If similar awards for women follow the same pace, we might not see a women’s Kopa or Yashin winner until 2080.

Then we have the blatant laziness and disregard shown toward women’s nominees on the official social media account. Months ago, when the players were first announced, it was haphazard and littered with errors; for example Caldentey was listed as representing Chelsea, even though she signed for Arsenal earlier in the season.

Then, during the ceremony, each men’s player ranked 30th to 10th received an individual post celebrating their achievements with video highlights. For the women, those nominees were posted together in groups of five, with only their names and ages displayed — no nationality, club, stats, or accolades.

The presentation of the Women’s Club of the Year award, which celebrated Barcelona’s historic quadruple that included a second consecutive Champions League title, was another bone of contention. Instead of focusing on the women’s team’s accomplishments, presenter Didier Drogba shifted attention to the men’s team and the weekend’s 4-0 El Clásico win over Real Madrid, prompting Barcelona president Joan Laporta to praise men’s coach Hansi Flick.

It was a massive opportunity for both the club representatives and presenters to wax lyrical about the exceptional success of Barcelona’s women’s team. Instead, their achievements were overshadowed by needless remarks about the men’s team. Praising the men’s team while accepting an award meant to honour the women’s was tone deaf and just reinforces the lack of respect shown.

Finally, we had the Socrates Award, introduced in 2022 and given to a footballer for their humanitarian work. This year it was awarded to Spain forward Hermoso for her stand against sexual violence and fighting inequality against women after RFEF president Luis Rubiales’ forcibly kissed her on the lips, allegedly without consent, during the medal ceremony after their 2023 World Cup success.

Rubiales resigned and was banned by FIFA for three years, but it was hugely ironic that Hermoso received an award for fighting for women’s equality at a ceremony that continues to highlight stark gender inequalities. When she was honoured, the ceremony hosts had to prompt a standing ovation because, although the women in the room had already risen, the men did not follow.

Organisations often want to be perceived to be helping issues facing women’s football but fail to address or correct the systematic inequalities. While the Ballon d’Or has introduced some minor improvements, it still falls short and is doing little more than the bare minimum to promote women’s football.

Year after year, the same critical issues are raised, yet the promise of meaningful progress remains unfulfilled. The time for superficial gestures has passed; it’s time for the Ballon d’Or to respect the remarkable achievements of women’s football fully.