The release of the Ballon d’Or shortlists naturally focused on the absence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from the men’s top 30 for the first time in 21 years, yet the real glaring omissions were to be found among the awards ceremony’s token efforts regarding women’s football.
Before even getting to the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or Féminin, some major things are missing. Two awards, let alone individual nominees. That is because the organisers, France Football and Uefa, will be presenting prizes to the top men’s goalkeeper of the year – the Yashin trophy – and the top young player of the year – the Kopa trophy – but neither of those categories has yet been created for the women’s game since the Ballon d’Or expanded to recognise female footballers in 2018.
