England's Georgia Stanway 'frustrated' by Ballon d'Or scheduling
Cameron Smith
- 30 Oct 2023 16:30 GMT
- 4 min read
Bayern Munich and England midfielder Georgia Stanway has admitted it’s “unfortunate” the nominees for the 2023 Women’s Ballon d’Or are unable to attend the ceremony in Paris due international commitments.
This week is an international break in the women’s game, with Stanway’s England facing Belgium in the Women’s Nations League on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Who will win Ballon d’Or 2023? Shortlist, favourites, latest odds, date and past winners
Red-hot favourite Aitana Bonmati also won’t be in attendance at the awards ceremony as she is on Spain duty ahead of their clash against Switzerland, which takes place on Tuesday too.
As a result, she will not be present to receive the trophy if she is named this year’s winner.
READ MORE: The five most expensive England Lionesses players of all time
What has Stanway said?
Stanway is one of four England Lionesses to have been nominated for the 2023 Women’s Ballon d’or - along with Millie Bright, Mary Earps and Rachel Daly - but they all will not be present on Monday evening.
The Bayern midfielder told the media, as per BBC Sport: "Obviously it's nice to get the accolade, as well as a lot of my team-mates who have been nominated as well. It's unfortunate that we couldn't be there," said Stanway.
"We spoke about it as a group and said it would be nice in the future if the ceremony wasn't on a matchday minus one day so we can all enjoy the experience.
"[It is frustrating] because it's a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You never know if you'll get selected for such an accolade like that again. It would be nice to enjoy the experience and be there.
"You want to feel like a star among the stars. We've got a game tomorrow, but if it was planned a little better then it would be easier for a lot of female footballers to be there.”
Her comments were echoed by England manager Sarina Wiegman, who added: “It would be nice for [female players to go] because everyone is working so hard.
“Of course we have to do a job and that's what we're here for so they can't attend. It would be really nice if things like that are organised so players could have the opportunity to go too.”
It’s not the first time this has happened either. The Ballon d’Or scheduling continues to be an issue for female footballers as the ceremony typically lands in the middle of their international break.
This was highlighted back in 2021 by The Telegraph’s Tom Garry and remains pertinent to this day.
Alexia Putellas is the reigning Women’s Ballon d’Or holder after winning the award in 2021 and 2022, but she will not be retaining her crown after an injury-hit 2022-23 season.
