The Ballon d’Or To The Golden Ball: The Most Iconic Awards in Football History

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Football is the most popular sport in the world. The top players are therefore awarded prestigious awards recognizing their achievements in the field. Among the gravest and most coveted honors are the Ballon d'Or, awarded since 1956 to the best player in each season, and the FIFA World Player of the Year-honoring the top talent of the game between 1991 and 2015. The Golden Ball recognizes the talent with the most outstanding performance at every FIFA World Cup, while the European Golden Shoe is awarded to the league goalscorer in Europe. Since 2009, the FIFA Puskás Award has celebrated the most beautiful goal of the year.

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The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award that has been presented by France Football magazine since 1956. It recognizes the player deemed to have delivered the best performance in the previous season. This prestigious award is considered one of the highest individual honors in the sport.

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The FIFA World Player of the Year was an annual football award given by FIFA from 1991 to 2015. Coaches, national team captains, and media representatives voted for the player they thought had the best performance in the previous calendar year. The award was presented during the FIFA World Player Gala.

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The Golden Ball is given to the top player at every FIFA World Cup. A shortlist is compiled by the FIFA Technical Study Group, and the winner is chosen by media representatives. The players who finish in second and third place receive the Silver and Bronze Ball awards, respectively. This award was first introduced during the 1982 World Cup and is sponsored by Adidas and France Football.

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The European Golden Shoe, often referred to as the European Golden Boot, is presented each season to the leading scorer in Europe's premier leagues. It was first introduced in the 1967–68 season under the name Soulier d'Or and was originally awarded to the top scorer across all leagues. Since 1997, a weighted system has been implemented to give more value to goals scored in stronger leagues, and the award is now presented by European Sports Media.

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The FIFA Puskás Award, established on October 20, 2009, recognizes the player who scores the most visually stunning goal of the year. It is announced each year through a voting process and has been limited to male players since 2024, with the FIFA Marta Award introduced for female players.