Nigeria is one of 20 African countries eligible to vote for the 2026 Ballon d’Or after being included among the top 100 nations in the FIFA men’s world ranking used to select members of the award’s international jury.
The 100-member jury includes representatives from 20 African countries, with their respective FIFA rankings listed below:
Morocco — 6th
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.
According to the Ballon d’Or regulations published by French sports newspaper L’Équipe, the award is decided by an international jury of specialist journalists, with one representative from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s world ranking.
The regulations state that the FIFA ranking used is the one in effect when the nominee lists are published on September 8, 2026.
Each juror will select 10 players in descending order of merit from the 30 nominees drawn up by the editorial staff of France Football, members of the L’Équipe editorial team, at least one juror from the previous edition and UEFA ambassadors.
Under the voting system, the player ranked first by each juror receives 15 points, followed by 12, 10, eight, seven, five, four, three, two and one point for the players ranked from second to 10th.
The player who accumulates the highest number of points will win the Ballon d’Or.
The regulations also provide a system for resolving a tie. If two or more players finish with the same number of points, they will first be separated by the number of first-place votes.
If the tie remains, the number of second-place votes will be considered, followed by third-place votes and so on.
Any dispute arising from the voting process will be resolved by the editor-in-chief of France Football, the organiser of the award.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony is scheduled to hold in London on October 26, with the winner of the men’s award expected to be announced at the event.
The award recognises performances during the 2025-26 season, covering the period from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026.
Performances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations are also considered as part of the assessment period.
