Ballon d’Or Breaks Paris Dynasty, Honours English Legend

After much French domination of the award, the Ballon d’Or, the football legendary award, is breaking ground and taking a big chance to come all the way over to London to pay tribute to an English legend. The 70-year anniversary of the world’s biggest individual award for football, France Football, is to be marked in London on October 26. It is also the first time in the trophy’s glittering history that the gala will now be held in the UK capital as it has done so in France for the past two years.

The glitter and glamour of Paris has long been associated with the golden ball, but the organisers have stated this trans-border move is not a moving-out move from France but a nod to the ball’s origins.

For it is a tribute to an English Legend.
It’s fitting that the 2026 edition is being hosted in London, as the base of the award itself. It was in 1956 that the great Blackpool and England international, Sir Stanley Matthews, beat the legend himself, Alfredo Di Stéfano to win the first Ballon d’Or.

Now, the organisers are coming back to the very same city in which the big idea for the award was first conceived, taking the milestone of the 70th anniversary to London.

France Football saw that it had moved from geography to the romanticism of football: the choice of London is in honour of the first France Football winner, Sir Stanley Matthews, in 1956.

A New European Era
For years, the footballing world has been coming to Paris in the fall. The prize will be presented in London, England in 2026 for the 70th Anniversary Edition, a gesture that will further instill in the sport a more European flair, with UEFA joining in the organization of the prize since 2024.

October’s red carpet was out there and this will set the reigning champions Ousmane Dembele (PSG) and Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona Femení) to light the torch in a footballing city that has its own history. The Ballon d’Or isn’t just moving to a new location, it’s also taking on its heritage in a new way, and showing the beautiful game how it can bridge the gap with history in new ways after 70 years.