When
The ceremony takes place at 11.30pm Bangladesh time today.
Where
The glitzy awards take place at Zurich’s Kongresshaus, a famous concert hall in the Swiss city.
Who are the nominees for the main award?
Barcelona and Argentina maestro Lionel Messi; Real Madrid and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo; and Neymar of Barcelona and Brazil.
Messi and Ronaldo have split the award between them every year since 2008, with Messi winning four times and Ronaldo winning three. The year before that, 2007, Ronaldo finished second to Kaka while Messi was third. And both men have been in the top three every year since, apart from 2010, when Spanish World Cup winners Andres Iniesta and Xavi bumped Ronaldo out of the final three (Iniesta and Xavi both lost out to Messi for the award, however).
How is the award decided?
The original 23-man shortlist has been sliced down to just the three. Voting - which closed on Nov 20, 2015 - is open to national team coaches and captains, plus a band of journalists selected by France Football and Fifa.
They all select their first, second and third choice for each award with five, three and one points assigned respectively. The award is given to the person who receives the highest weighted percentage of votes in relation to the other nominees. If the results are a tie, the nominee with the most first-choice votes wins.
Who is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or?
Not much drama expected as Messi is expected to claim the title for the fifth time. Neymar and Ronaldo sit second and third favourites.
Other awards to be given out
There is the women’s player of the year award; the coach of the year awards (one each for men’s and women’s football); and the best moment of the night, the Puskas Award for the greatest goal of the year.
Who will win the Puskas Award for the greatest goal of the year?
Lionel Messi better have two speeches ready: the other goals in the top 10 are outstanding, but Messi’s strike in the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao was arguably the finest of his dazzling career; the other two in the final shortlist of three are Alessandro Florenzi’s long-range effort and Wendell Lira’s volley. But given that it’s decided by public vote Messi’s popularity makes this a no-contest.
How about the Women’s World Player of the Year award?
The nominees are Carli Lloyd of the USA, Aya Miyama of Japan and Celia Sasic of Germany. But Lloyd is a shoo-in: the USA’s talismanic striker earned the Golden Ball at the Women’s World Cup last summer. She was unlucky that her strike from half-way in the World Cup final did not to make the final three of the Puskas award, but she won’t leave Zurich empty-handed.
What about the Men’s World Coach of the Year?
The three nominees are Barcelona’s treble-winning Luis Enrique; Bayern Munich’s title-winning Pep Guardiola; and Chile’s Copa America-winning Jorge Sampaoli. Enrique is a huge favourite after guiding his men to the treble, but Sampaoli might sneak in for his achievement in derailing Argentina in that Copa America final.
