France football

FIFA to rebrand player of the year

The annual ceremony in Zurich, which until last year was jointly organised with France Football and known as the Ballon d'Or, would be renamed "The Best FIFA Football Awards" following a split with the French magazine, a FIFA statement said.

Under the new system, half the votes would belong to the players and coaches of the world's 211 national teams and half to the public, who will take part via an online ballot, and selected media representatives.