Breaking! No Ballon d’or award for 2020 due to Coronavirus
The Prestigious Ballon d’or award ceremony will not hold in 2020.
According to reports, the Ballon d’or award presentation was canceled due to the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus.
The confirmation that the award ceremony for 2020 has been canceled came through the organizers’ Group L’Equipe.
According to the organizers, the award was canceled because certain conditions required could not be met in the course of the year.
This would be the first time since the award inception in 1956 that the Ballon d’or would not be given out.
A huge reason for that would be the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus which led to stoppage and even cancellation of several football leagues around the world.
A statement by the organizers about the cancellation of the Ballon d’or said, “As the organiser of the Ballon d’Or, the Group L’Equipe, to which France Football belongs, decided not to award the most prestigious individual trophy there is in 2020.
“For the first time since 1956, the Ballon d’Or will take a break.
“There will be no edition in 2020, because it turns out, after thoughtful consideration, that all the conditions are not met.
“We believe that such a singular year cannot – and should not – be treated as an ordinary one.
“From a sports perspective, two months (January and February), out of the 11 generally required to form an opinion and decide who should lift the trophies, represent far too little to gauge and judge, without forgetting that the other games were played – or will be played – in unordinary conditions (behind closed doors, with five replacements, Champions League played in a single game).”
“Finally, the equity that prevails for this honorary title will not be warranted, especially when it comes to accounting and preparation.
“All the award seekers will not be in the same boat, some having seen their season cut short. Therefore, how can we establish a fair comparison? To avoid overly convoluted calculations and projections, we chose the least bad of the options.
“This decision, which was taken of course with all the Group stakeholders, does not delight us but it seems to be the most responsible one.”
