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The Ballon d'Or will not be awarded for the year 2020 due to lack of fair conditions, France Football have confirmed.
The Ballon d'Or is awarded on an annual basis by French magazine France Football, and have done so every year since 1956. They have confirmed that because football was impacted so heavily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no player will be presented with the Ballon d'Or.
Pascal Ferre confirms there will be no Ballon d'Or for 2020
The chief editor of France Football, Pascal Ferre, confirmed the cancellation of the Ballon d'Or in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. He explained,
"There will be no [Ballon d'Or] edition in 2020, because it turns out, after thoughtful consideration, that all the conditions are not met. We believe that such a singular year cannot and should not be treated as an ordinary one."
He continued,
"From a sports perspective, two months [January and February], out of the eleven generally required to form an opinion and decide who should lift the trophies, represent far too little to gauge and judge; without forgetting that the other games were played – or will be played – in unordinary conditions."
The 'unordinary' conditions being referred to here are the games in empty stadiums, changes to the number of substitutions per game, and others.
Robert Lewandowski was tipped to win the 2020 Ballon d'Or over current holder Lionel Messi after a spectacular 50-goal season. However, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner looks set to retain his crown this year. Megan Rapinoe won the 2019 edition of the women's award and will face the same fate as the next best player will only be crowned in 2021.
