What happens if Ballon d’Or voting ends in a tie? Here’s what you need to know

The race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or is entering its final stage, with the shortlisted players waiting to discover who will walk onto the podium and claim one of football’s most prestigious individual awards.

As the anticipation builds, discussions around the leading contenders have largely focused on their performances, trophies, and individual achievements.

But there is another question that is rarely discussed: what happens if two or more players finish level on points in the Ballon d’Or voting?

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With the possibility of an extremely close contest, the official France Football regulations provide a clear procedure for determining the winner if the vote ends in a tie.

According to Articles 8 and 9 of the official Ballon d’Or regulations, a tie for first place is not simply left unresolved.

The first method used to break a tie is to compare the number of first-place votes received by the players involved.

The player who has received more votes for first place is therefore separated from the other tied candidates.

If the players remain level after their first-place votes are compared, the regulations move to the number of second-place votes.

Should the tie continue, third-place votes are considered, followed by fourth-place votes and so on until the deadlock is resolved.

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This means the Ballon d’Or voting system has a built-in mechanism designed to identify a single winner even when the overall points total is identical.

The regulations also make provision for circumstances in which a dispute or unusual situation arises during the voting process.

Article 9 states that any dispute relating to the voting process is to be resolved by the editor-in-chief of France Football, acting in their capacity as organizer of the award.

This gives France Football's leadership the final authority to settle any unresolved issue connected to the vote.

Any dispute arising from the voting process will be resolved by the editor-in-chief of France Football in their capacity as the organizer.

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The tie-break procedure is particularly important because Ballon d’Or voting involves a large international jury, making an exact tie theoretically possible.

Rather than relying on a subjective decision, the regulations establish a sequence based on the ranking positions awarded by voters.

The system first examines first-place votes before moving progressively through the lower positions if necessary.

That ensures the voting process has a defined route to determine the winner in the event of a dead heat.

The wait will end on October 26, 2026, when the winners of the 2026 Ballon d’Or and the other individual awards are revealed.

Until then, the debate over the leading contenders will continue, but one thing is clear: France Football's regulations already outline what happens if the vote finishes level at the top.

For players dreaming of lifting the Ballon d’Or, however, the objective remains the same—secure enough support from the jury to finish ahead of the competition when the votes are counted.