Tonight sees the annual Ballon d'Or awards held in Paris, and it is a big night for us as both Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema have been nominated for the Ballon d'Or Feminin, while Bukayo Saka is up for the Kopa Trophy award.
Here is everything you need to know about the event:
What is it?
The annual event crowns the best male, female and young footballers in the world, with the male prize first awarded in 1956.
In 2018, the Ballon d'Or Feminin was introduced, as was the Kopa Trophy - named after French football legend Raymond Kopa - which is handed out to the best male player aged under 21. It was won last year by Barcelona's Pedri.
How does it work?
For the Ballon d'Or Feminin, a single journalist from each of the top 50 countries in the FIFA world rankings considers who has been the best performers during the 2021/22 campaign (including Euro 2022) from a 20-player shortlists, and rank their top five based on the following criteria:
- Individual performance in previous season
- Team success during the previous season
- Taking player behaviour and fair play during season in consideration
The player ranked first receives six points, second is given four, third gets three; fourth two and fifth a solitary point.
At the end of the scoring, if any players are tied on overall points, the number of first-place votes will be used as a tie-breaker.
A similar scoring system is used for the Kopa Trophy, although it is chosen by previous winners of the men's Ballon d'Or.
When is it?
The ceremony takes place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday, starting at 7.30pm UK time.
Supporters can stream the event for free on L'Equipe's YouTube channel.
Which of our players have been nominated?
Beth had a career-best WSL season as she registered 11 goals, eight assists, and a staggering 72 chances – over 20 more than anyone else in the league. She then capped her summer off at Euro 2022 with the Golden Boot and the Player of the Tournament award, as England’s Lionesses strode to victory at Wembley. This is her first Ballon d'Or nomination.
However, this is Viv's third Ballon d'Or nomination. She had another stellar season us, notching up 14 goals and eight assists, making her our top goalscorer for the fourth year running. The Dutch striker signed a new contract with us earlier this summer.
Meanwhile, last season saw Bukayo score 11 goals in 38 Premier League games for us, scooping our Player of the Year award for a second consecutive year in the process. A part of the England side that reached the final of Euro 2020, he also helped the Three Lions qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
Who are Beth and Viv up against?
Alongside Beth and Viv as favourites for the award are Barcelona duo Alexia Putelllas - the current holder - and Aitana Bonmati who won a domestic double, as well as PSG striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto. Like Beth, Germany and Wolfsburg goalscorer Alexandra Popp also netted six times at Euro 2022, while Chelsea's Sam Kerr won the WSL and Women's FA Cup and won the domestic Golden Boot.
Beth's fellow Lionness teammates Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze were also included in their 20-player shortlist:
Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Ada Hegerberg (Lyon), Alex Popp (Wolfsburg), Selam Bacha (Lyon), Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Christiane Endler (Lyon), Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg), Kadidiatou Diani (PSG) Catarina Macario (Lyon), Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG), Millie Bright (Chelsea), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
Who are Buyako's fellow nominees?
Saka is one of 10 nominees, which also include England teammate Jude Bellingham, one of two Borussia Dortmund players alongside Karim Adeyemi.
There are also a pair of Bayern Munich players in Ryan Gravenberch and Jamal Musiala, while El Classico duo Gavi and Aduardo Camavinga are also shortlisted.
PSG's Nuno Mendes, RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol and Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz are also in the running to claim the trophy, which is now in its fourth year, having previously been handed to Kylian Mbappe, Matthijs De Ligt and Pedri.
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