FIFA, France Football combine for best footballer award

Published>Mon, Jul 05 10 08:57 PM

Johannesburg, July 5 (DPA) World football governing body FIFA and the magazine France Football will jointly award the Golden Ball for the best footballer in the world, FIFA president Joseph Blatter said Monday.

'The winner is football because as of January of next year we will have one single trophy for the best player in the world,' Blatter told a press conference in Johannesburg.

The award - which will be called FIFA Ballon d'Or - will be presented for the first time on January 10, 2011.

Until now, two awards for the Footballer of the Year have been handed out each year, with FIFA handing out silverware since 1991 and France Football since 1956.

FIFA and the magazine must still agree on which criteria the winner will be named.

FIFA's victor was selected by the coaches and captains of national teams, while the French Football award was decided by journalists.

Source: Web Search