When is the 2022 Ballon d'Or nominations shortlist announced? Lionel Messi and Alexia Putellas amongst favourites

We are mere days away from finding out who are the nominees for the 2022 Ballon d'Or as France Football prepare to release the shortlist on Friday, August 12 2022 for the men's and women's prizes. The shortlist for the men's award will contain 30 names while the women's award will be made up of 20 players. The 10-player shortlists will also be announced for the Yashin (best goalkeeper) and Kopa (best under-21 player) awards on Friday.

The actual awards will be handed out at a gala event that will take place at the Theatre du Chatelet, in Paris on October 17, 2022 some 66 days after the announcement of the shortlists. Ad The criteria for the awards has changed this year; rather than being awarded for excellence over a calendar year, the nominations will be based on a player's performance over a typical football season — so from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022. Premier LeagueHaaland! Messi! Spurs! Man Utd… Football, football, everywhere – The Warm-Up5 HOURS AGO The Ballon d'Or — or Golden Ball — is awarded by France Football and was conceived by Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran.

The award was first presented in 1956 — Stanley Matthews of Blackpool won it with Alfredo Di Stefano and Raymond Kopa both of Real Madrid second and third. Originally, the award was open to just European players, but in 1995 the criteria was expanded to players of any nationality playing at a European club, and then in 2007 it was expanded again to become a global award. The first women's Ballon d'Or was awarded in 2018.

Between 2010 and 2015, France Football and FIFA brought their respective awards — the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year — together under the guise of the FIFA Ballon d'Or. That partnership ended in 2017. When are