LONDON (AP) — The Ballon d’Or ceremony to crown the best men’s and women’s players in soccer is moving from its traditional Paris home to London in October.
The venue change for the Oct. 26 ceremony marks the 70th anniversary of the first award won by England great Stanley Matthews, co-organizers France Football magazine and UEFA said on Thursday.
London also is the home city of England record scorer Harry Kane and the Arsenal team which won its first Premier League title in 22 years and plays for a first Champions League title on Saturday against Paris Saint-Germain.
Kane scored 61 goals in 51 games of a standout season for German champion Bayern Munich. That career-best total included 14 in the Champions League, where Bayern was edged by PSG in the semifinals, plus five more for England in a World Cup qualifying group.
The men’s Ballon d’Or in Paris last year was won by Ousmane Dembélé after PSG won its first Champions League title.
Dembélé scored 19 in 39 games for PSG this season and started only 11 games in the Ligue 1 title campaign. He has seven goals in the Champions League ahead of facing Arsenal, including a key goal against Bayern, though he missed five of France’s six World Cup qualifying games while injured.
The winner of the past three women’s Ballon d’Or awards, Aitana Bonmatí, missed most of the season through injury, returning at the end of Barcelona’s quadruple-winning season that has included another Champions League title last Saturday against OL Lyonnes.
Ballon d’Or voters are a global panel of journalists who each pick their top 10 from a shortlist of 30 players presented by France Football, L’Equipe newspaper and UEFA.
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