Nigeria, Ghana and eighteen other African countries are eligible to vote for the 2026 Ballon d’Or after ranking among the top 100 nations in the FIFA men’s world ranking used to determine the award’s international jury. France Football, organisers of the prestigious award, said the men’s Ballon d’Or is decided……
Nigeria, Ghana and eighteen other African countries are eligible to vote for the 2026 Ballon d’Or after ranking among the top 100 nations in the FIFA men’s world ranking used to determine the award’s international jury.
France Football, organisers of the prestigious award, said the men’s Ballon d’Or is decided by an international jury made up of specialised journalists, with one representative selected from each of the 100 highest-ranked countries in the FIFA men’s world ranking.
Under the 2026 regulations, the FIFA ranking in effect when the voting lists were published on September 8 was used to determine the composition of the jury.
Each journalist will be required to select and rank 10 players from the 30 nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or.
The player ranked first by each journalist will receive 15 points, while the second choice gets 12 points.
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The remaining points are awarded as follows: 10, eight, seven, five, four, three, two and one point for the players ranked third to 10th respectively.
The points accumulated from all eligible journalists will determine the final Ballon d’Or standings.
The 20 African nations represented in the 100-country jury are:
Morocco — 6th in FIFA ranking
Senegal — 18th
Egypt — 24th
Nigeria — 26th
Algeria — 29th
Côte d’Ivoire — 31st
DR Congo — 41st
Cameroon — 43rd
Mali — 53rd
South Africa — 54th
Tunisia — 57th
Burkina Faso — 62nd
Cabo Verde — 64th
Ghana — 65th
Guinea — 81st
Gabon — 84th
Angola — 87th
Uganda — 89th
Zambia — 90th
Benin — 94th
The other 80 countries in the top 100 are from Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Oceania.
Prominent Journalists Heading the African Jury
France Football maintains data privacy for the complete individual roster until full voting charts are published post-ceremony. However, among the African journalists who have been publicly identified as Ballon d’Or voters are:
Nigeria: Samm Audu (Representing Nigeria via Score Nigeria).
Ghana: Michael Oti Adjei (Celebrated sports broadcaster and head of sports at Media General, executing Ghana’s ballot).
Egypt: Inas Mazhar (Veteran journalist, former CAF Media Officer, and longstanding vote holder for the Pharaohs).
South Africa: Mark Gleeson (Highly respected African football commentator, analyst, and statistician representing Bafana Bafana).
Morocco: Mustapha Badri (Renowned editor and director of the prominent Moroccan sports publication Al Mountakhab)
The Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place in London on October 26, when the winner of the men’s award will be announced.
The award covers performances during the 2025-26 season, including domestic and international competitions.
France Football said the reference period ran from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026, including the 2026 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations for the men’s award.
