Every year, all eyes turn to the Ballon d'Or ceremony, where the best men's and women's players in the world are crowned.Since 1956, some of the biggest names in football history have been honored with the "Golden Ball," an iconic trophy that has become synonymous with the greatest players the game has ever seen.The decade characterized by the back-and-forth struggle for the trophy between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Me si has only served to grow the awarene s and attention surrounding it, and the event has since grown to become a glitzy award show seen around the world. The scrutiny Jose Leclerc Jersey has also led to an evolution of the award's format and the voting proce s.The Ballon d'Or awards night also features more than just two trophies: The best men's goalkeeper, the top male Under-21 player, and honors recognizing the best club, the best goal scorer, and acts of solidarity have now become part of the annual celebration.The Sporting News brings you everything you need to know about the world's most iconic football award and the trophy known as the "Golden Ball."MORE: The Ballon d'Or, or "Golden Ball" in French, is the most prestigious individual award in world football, recognizing the best male and female player around the globe.Some of the greatest players the game has ever seen, such as Lionel Me si, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, and many others have been bestowed with the Golden Ball.First launched and awarded in 1956 by French publication France Football, the Ballon d'Or has been given out in every single year since, only mi sing the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dak Prescott Jersey The 2022 event will be the 66th edition.In 2018, the Ballon d'Or Feminin was introduced for the first time to honor the best female player in the world. Below are the 2022 finalists for the women's award. The Ballon d'Or is awarded yearly and for the first time in 2022 it will recognize the best player of the previous European club season (runs from August to July) and will be staged in mid-October.For many years the Ballon d'Or was held in late November and December and rewarded the best player of that same calendar year. The timing of the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicking off in November no doubt played a part in the rethinking of the format.Stanley Matthews of Blackpool was the first winner in 1956, just beating out the next two winners of the award, Alfredo Di Stefano (1957, 1959) and Raymond Kopa (1958).MORE: Since its inception in 1956, the Ballon d'Or Taylor Hearn Jersey award is presented by French publication France Football. From 2010 to 2015, France Football had a partnership with world governing body FIFA to make the Ballon d'Or FIFA's official "Player of the Year" award, but since the end of that partnership, the two organizations have gone their separate ways.FIFA now has its official FIFA The Best player awards each year, but the Ballon d'Or is still considered by most fans and media to be the most prestigious individual award in the world.The voting proce s was revised in 2022 to involve a media member from each of the top 100 nations in the FIFA men's world ranking (for the men's Ballon d'Or voting) and from the top 50 nations in the FIFA women's world ranking (for the women's Ballon d'Or vote).The media Ian Gibaut Jersey members vote by selecting names from the list of finalists, and they rank their selections. Each vote is weighted with different point totals a signed based on the specific ranking of the player on the ballot. After all the votes are tallied, the player with the most points is awarded the Ballon d'Or.While the award was initially limited to recognizing the best European player on the continent, in 1995 organizers opened it up to non-Europeans plying their trade in Europe to also be considered. Years later in 2007 the award was expanded further so any player acro s the world could be eligible whether or not they played in Europe.Alongside the change in timeline, voter base and player eligibility, the voting criteria was also updated in 2022 to eliminate consideration for overall career performance, which potentially skewed the 2021 vote in favor of Lionel Me si, and instead focus on three main factors:Individual performance in previous season (no longer by calendar year);Team succe s during the previous season;Player behavior and fair play during the season in consideration. From 2008 to 2021, Lionel Me si and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the top echelon of world football, winning every Adolis García Jersey single Ballon d'Or award in that span except for one, when Luka Modric won in 2018.Nobody in history had remained atop the football world for such a long stretch. As a result, those two players have racked up the most Ballon d'Or awards in history.Lionel Me sihas won the most Ballon d'Or awards, claiming the trophy seven times, while Cristiano Ronaldo has won five.Behind them, nobody in history had won more than three. Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff, and Marco van Basten each won three Ballon d'Or awards, while Franz Beckenbauer, Ronaldo 'O Fenomeno', Alfredo Di Stefano, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and Kevin Keegan each won two.MORE: