What Is The ‘Golden Ball’ Trophy That Is Awarded At FIFA World Cup? | OneFootball

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place in Qatar next month with 32 top nations in world football fighting it out among themselves to see who gets crowned as the new champions of the world. This year’s World Cup will kick off on November 20 and end on December 18 with the final being held at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. With so many world-class players on show, all eyes will be on the Middle East where the competition is taking place for the first time in its history.

To mark the return of the prestigious FIFA tournament, let’s find out what the ‘golden ball’ trophy is all about.

What Is FIFA’s Golden Ball Award?

The top player in each FIFA World Cup finals tournament gets named the winner of the Golden Ball award. FIFA’s technical committee (Technical Study Group) is responsible for making the shortlist with the winner being chosen by various media representatives. The second-best footballer in each World Cup competition receives the Silver Ball and the third-best player secures the Bronze Ball award.

Back in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which was sponsored by Adidas and France Football, FIFA officially started to hand out the Golden Ball award for the first time to the best player of the World Cup.

FIFA World Cup

Here is a full list of all the past Golden Ball winners in World Cup history.

And below is the official list of past Golden Ball winners since FIFA started giving out the trophy back in 1982.