Ballon d'Or Feminin: Nominees, favourites date, location, history and everything else you you need to know

Ballon d'Or Feminin: Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati receives the Women's Ballon d'Or award during the 2023 Ballon d'Or France Football award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 30, 2023.
Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati receives the Women's Ballon d'Or award during the 2023 Ballon d'Or France Football award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 30, 2023. (Image credit: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Anticipation is growing ahead of the Ballon d’Or Feminin 2024 ceremony in Paris. The best player in women’s football will be crowned in late October – and some of the biggest names in the game have been nominated for the award, which Aitana Bonmati of Barcelona and Spain won last year.

She will be in the running again, along with several players from England’s WSL, among them Lauren James, Lucy Bronze and Lauren Hemp. Chelsea’s Sjoeke Nusken and Mayra Ramirez have also been nominated, as have Manchester City’s Yui Hasegawa and Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey.

The trophy is exactly the same as the men's Ballon d'Or. Ahead of the ceremony to decide the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or Feminin, here is everything you need to know.

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Nominees and favourites

Who has been nominated for the 2024 Ballon d’Or Feminin?

28 female footballers have been given the nod for the award this time around. They are as follows:

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Header Cell - Column 0 PlayerNationClub
1Aitana BonmatiSpainBarcelona
2Barbra BandaZambiaOrlando Pride
3TarcianeBrazilHouston Dash
4Lauren HempEnglandManchester City
5Trinity RodmanUnited StatesWashington Spirit
6Ada HegerbergNorwayLyon
7Manuela GiuglianoItalyRoma
8Mallory SwansonUnited StatesChicago Red Stars
9Glodis ViggosdottirIcelandBayern Munich
10Mariona CaldenteySpainArsenal
11Lauren JamesEnglandChelsea
12Lea SchullerGermanyBayern Munich
13Patricia GuijarroSpainBarcelona
14Gabi PortilhoBrazilCorinthians
15Tabitha ChawingaMalawiLyon
16Caroline Graham HansenNorwayBarcelona
17Lindsey HoranUnited StatesLyon
18Sjoeke NuskenGermanyChelsea
19Yui HasegawaJapanManchester City
20Lucy BronzeEnglandChelsea
21Salma ParallueloSpainBarcelona
22Giulia GwinnGermanyBayern Munich
23Khadija ShawJamaicaManchester City
24Grace GeyoroFranceParis Saint-Germain
25Alexia PutellasSpainBarcelona
26Sophia SmithUnited StatesPortland Thorns
27Ewa PajorPolandBarcelona
28Alyssa NaeherUnited StatesChicago Red Stars

Spain women Olympics 2024 squad Aitana Bonmati of Spain runs with the ball during the UEFA Women's European Qualifiers League match at Riazor Stadium on July 16, 2024 in La Coruna, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Aitana Bonmati is the holder of the award – and the favourite (Image credit: Getty Images)

Who are the favourites for the Ballon d'Or Feminin 2024?

Though odds are harder to come by for the women's Ballon d'Or than the men's odds, Aitana Bonmati is the favourite for the Ballon d'Or Feminin. She is followed by Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona) and Kadidiatou Diani (Lyon).

Though Barcelona are the queens of Europe in women's football, there is English interest through one of their other favourites. Mariona Caldentey is a favourite to finish highly in the vote – and she left Catalonia for Arsenal in the summer.

Date and location

When is the 2024 Ballon d’Or Feminin?

The 2024 Ballon d’Or Feminin ceremony will take place on October 28. The award will be handed out on the same night that the men's gong is given out, making it a joint evening.

Where is the 2024 Ballon d’Or Feminin?

The 2024 Ballon d’Or Feminin ceremony will be held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France. The BDO Feminin

BDO Feminin explained

Ada Hegerberg of Norway and Olympioque Lyonnais wins the 2018 Ballon D'Or at Le Grand Palais on December 3, 2018 in Paris, France

Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural BDO (Image credit: Getty)

What is the Ballon d’Or Feminin?

The Ballon d’Or Feminin is an award which recognises the player judged to have performed the best in world football over the past season. It is presented by football magazine France Football and was first awarded to Ada Hegerberg of Norway in 2018.

Former winners

Spain at Women's Euro 2022: Alexia Putellas of FC Barcelona poses for a portrait with the La Liga, Women Champion League, Copa de la Reina, UEFA Women's Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or trophie during a UEFA Media day on March 09, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.

Alexia Putellas was the first woman to win two Ballon d'Ors (Image credit: David Ramos - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Unlike the male equivalent – which has a long list of illustrious winners – the BDO Feminin has only been going since 2018. Here are all the winners of the award thus far:

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YeerPlayerNationClub
2018Ada HegerbergNorwayLyon
2019Megan RapinoeUnited StatesReign FC
2020*Row 2 - Cell 1 Row 2 - Cell 2 Row 2 - Cell 3
2021Alexia PutellasSpainBarcelona
2022Alexia PutellasSpainBarcelona
2023Aitana BonmatiSpainBarcelona

*not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic

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Callum Rice-Coates

Callum is a football writer who has had work published by the likes of BBC Sport, the Independent, BT Sport and the Blizzard, amongst various others. A lifelong Wrexham fan, he is hoping Ryan Reynolds can lead his hometown club to the promised land.