Lionesses explain why they won't attend Ballon d'Or Feminin ceremony

30 October 2023 , 15:38

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Four Lionesses are nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or Feminin award (Image: The FA via Getty Images)

England midfielder Georgia Stanway says she and her Lionesses teammates nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or Feminin will not attend the awards ceremony in Paris on Monday night as the team prepare for their Nations League match against Belgium on Tuesday.

Four England internationals were nominated for football's top accolade, with Chelsea defender Millie Bright, Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps and Aston Villa striker Rachel Daly joining Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway among a heady shortlist for football's biggest individual prize.

The Ballon d'Or ceremony is set to take place in Paris on Monday evening on the eve of the Lionesses ' Nations League match with the Red Devils, whom England narrowly defeated in a 1-0 win on Friday to lift them level on points with group leaders Netherlands.

And Stanway, 24, explained that the nominated Lionesses will not be in attendance in Paris despite the possibility of taking home the coveted prize due to game preparation and voiced her disappointment at the timing of the ceremony. "It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t be there," she said in a press conference ahead of Tuesday's match.

"That’s something that we spoke about as a playing group and we just said it would be nice in the future if it wasn’t on a matchday -1 so that we could enjoy the experience." Stanway helped German giants to a fifth Frauen-Bundesliga title in their history and supplied 10 goals in 37 appearances across all competitions last season and reached the quarter-finals of last year's Women's Champions League.

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England compatriot Keira Walsh was a shock omission from the 30-player shortlist released in September. The 26-year-old, who is currently the world's most expensive women's footballer after swapping Manchester City for Barcelona, is largely considered one of the best midfielders in the world.

Walsh helped the Spanish giants to a treble in her first season with the club after helping England to a first-ever major tournament triumph at last summer's European Championships, in which she claimed the Player of the Match award in the final victory over Germany.

Georgia Stanway (R) is nominated for the Ballon d'Or Feminin but Keira Walsh (L) missed out (Photo by Richard Callis/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

And Stanway, who is a close friend of Walsh's, seemingly alluded to her teammate's absence from the nomination ballot, saying: “Obviously it’s very cool [being] nominated. It’s nice to get the accolade, as well as a lot of my teammates in the Lionesses. There are a few people I would also add to the list that have also had a very successful year."

Two-time winner Alexia Putellas is not among the nominees in contention this year after injury ruled out the Barcelona and Spain star for most of last season.

Putellas' Barcelona teammate Aitana Bonmati is the favourite to replace the goalscorer at football's pinnacle. The 25-year-old midfielder has cut herself one of the best women’s footballers in the world over the last 12 months and is tipped to finish off her teeming title collection by taking home a first Ballon d'Or Feminin.

Meanwhile seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is the favourite to collect an eighth title after his unparalleled career was given its crowning glory with Argentina at the men's World Cup in Qatar.

Megan Feringa