2020 Balloon D’Or Cancelled Over Covid-19 Scare.

France Football, the organisers of the Balloon D’Or award, announced on Monday, July 20, 2020 that it will put on hold the Balloon D’Or ceremony this year because of the current coronavirus pandemic.

The organisers revealed the news via its social media pages Today, and the Editor of the Magazine, Pascal Ferre stated that “There will be no edition in 2020, because it turns out, after thoughtful consideration, that all the conditions are not met.”

À circonstances exceptionnelles, dispositions exceptionnelles. Pour la première fois de son histoire, débutée en 1956, le #Ballondor France Football ne sera pas attribué en 2020, faute de conditions équitables suffisantes.

Nos explications sur ce choix : https://t.co/LgRr8GCuKD pic.twitter.com/Z1x3L3QBGV

— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) July 20, 2020

France Football said it would be unfair to vote on the world’s best player when some leagues, including the French Ligue 1, cancelled their seasons early.

Ferre also suggested that it would not be right to judge players based on games played without spectators present.

France Football added that it was looking forward to holding a ceremony in 2021, but that this year it would instead organise a vote for the all-time greatest men’s XI.

This will be the first time the trophy given for the world’s best men’s footballer has not been awarded since Englishman Stanley Matthews won the inaugural edition in 1956.

The COVID-19 outbreak saw all major football leagues shut down in March, with the German Bundesliga the first to resume behind closed doors in May.