Football’s Greatest Prize Ballon d’Or 2020 Cancelled For The First Time Ever

PARIS (France): Ballon d’Or will not be awarded this year due to lack of sufficient fair conditions amid COVID-19 pandemic, announced France Football on July 20, 2020.

The prestigious football honour was established in 1956. Since then, without exception, the award has been conferred every year.

France Football released an official statement, which read that the Ballon d’Or France Football will not be awarded in 2020 for the first time in its history due to lack of sufficient fair conditions under exceptional circumstances and exceptional provisions.

Created in 1956 by France Football redaction, the Ballon d’Or has become the most prestigious individual trophy in the world. The greatest football players, such as Johan Cruyff, George Weah, Zinédine Zidane or Cristiano Ronaldo, have won it.

The statement read that from a sports perspective, the two months of January and February, out of the eleven generally required to form an opinion and decide who should lift the trophies represent too little time to gauge and judge. It added saying that we cannot forget that the other games were played or will be played in unordinary conditions such as with five replacements and behind closed doors.

The award organiser felt that the equity that prevails for the honorary title will not be warranted, as all the award seekers will not be in the same boat with some having seen their season cut short. Therefore, there cannot be a fair comparison. Hence, the body chose the least bad option to avoid overly convoluted calculations and projections.

The decision was taken after discussion with all the Group stakeholders. France Football stated that the decision though not delightful seems to be the most responsible one, protecting the credibility and legitimacy of the award.

The statement concluded by saying that Ballon d’Or will gather again the football big family and enthusiasts in 2021, to relive the happiness that surrounds the ceremonies as experienced in recent years.

from League of India