Twenty African countries will have representatives on the international jury responsible for deciding the winner of the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with Nigeria among the nations included in the voting process.
The composition of the jury is based on the FIFA men’s world ranking in effect when the voting lists were published on September 8, 2026.
France Football, which organises the Ballon d’Or, selects one specialist journalist from each of the world’s top 100 ranked countries.
The 20 African countries and their FIFA ranking positions are:
- 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.
The voting process involves journalists selecting and ranking 10 players from the 30 nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or. The player placed first on each ballot receives 15 points, while the second gets 12.
The remaining positions attract 10, eight, seven, five, four, three, two and one point respectively.
The African representation gives the continent 20 places within the 100-member international jury.
The remaining 80 voting countries come from Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Oceania.
Although France Football does not release the complete list of individual voters before the official voting charts are published, several African journalists have been publicly identified as representatives of their respective countries.
Nigeria’s ballot is reportedly held by Samm Audu of Score Nigeria, while Ghana is represented by sports broadcaster Michael Oti Adjei. Egypt’s representative is veteran journalist Inas Mazhar, while South African football commentator and analyst Mark Gleeson represents his country. Morocco’s representative has been identified as Mustapha Badri, editor and director of Al Mountakhab.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or is particularly significant because the assessment period covers performances from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026.
The period includes major domestic and international competitions, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.
The final award ceremony is scheduled to take place in London on October 26, 2026, when the winner of the men’s Ballon d’Or will be announced.
With 20 African journalists participating in the global voting process, the continent will have a substantial presence in determining how the performances of the world’s leading footballers are assessed for one of football’s most prestigious individual honours.
