Why is Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony taking place in London, England and who was Stanley Matthews? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Over the years, the Ballon d'Or has been steeped in football history and tradition.
Awarded to the best football player over the course of a single season, the Ballon d'Or is now considered the most prestigious award in the sport.
In 2026, the frontrunners are Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, and Kylian Mbappe, with all three players never having won the award previously. Last year's winner Ousmane Dembele is amongst the 30 nominees but not considered likely to triumph again.
Viewers of the 2026 Ballon d'Or gala, which is put on by media outlet France Football, may notice that it is not taking place in its usual venue, having been awarded for the last number of years at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.
FOLLOW LIVE:Real-time updates throughout the 2026 Ballon d'Or gala
Why is Ballon d'Or taking place in London?
For the first time in the award's history, the Ballon d'Or award ceremony is being held outside France in 2026 as the trophy will be given out at the Palladium Theatre in London, England.
For the 70th edition of the trophy ceremony, the venue was moved to honor the birthplace of Stanley Matthews, the first-ever Ballon d'Or winner.
In 1956, Matthews won the award with 47 voting points, three more than second-place Alfredo Di Stefano, with Raymond Kopa in third, Ferenc Puskas in fourth, and Lev Yashin in fifth.
That means he finished higher than the greatest Real Madrid player ever, the namesake of the Kopa Trophy, the namesake of the Puskas Award, and the namesake of the Yashin Trophy.
MORE:Sporting News staff members pick who they believe should win the 2026 Ballon d'Or
Who was Stanley Matthews?
Stanley Matthews was an English football star who played from 1932 to 1965, mostly for Stoke City and Blackpool. He is best known as the first-ever Ballon d'Or winner, given the award in 1956 at the age of 41 years old.
After making his debut for Stoke in 1932, he would help the club win the Second Division title in 1933 to earn promotion to the top flight. World War II cost Matthews most of the prime ages of his career, from 24 years old to 30 years old.
Matthews would earn manage to earn 54 caps for England during his career, an astonishing total given how much time he missed for the war plus how many fewer international games were played back in that day. He played at the 1950 and 1954 World Cup tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals at the latter in Switzerland, ultimately eliminated by Uruguay by a 4-2 score.
After finishing as runners-up in 1947 and 1951 with Stoke, Matthews would help Blackpool win the FA Cup title in 1953, which was at the time considered the most coveted trophy in England. As a nod to his performance in the match, it was dubbed the "Matthews Final" even though Stan Mortensen scored a hat-trick. Blackpool were down 3-1 at one point before coming back to win 4-3, with Matthews assisting two of the three goals during the comeback, completed in the 92nd minute by William Perry. The game became famous as it was considered the first major TV audience in England for a sporting event.
In 1965, Matthews became the only footballer to be knighted for services to football while still an active professional player. He would retire later that year, at the age of 51.
Matthews would live to the age of 85, when he passed away in February of 2000.