LONDON (AP) — The Ballon d’Or ceremony to crown the best men's and women's players in soccer is moving from its traditional Paris home to London in October.
The venue change for the Oct. 26 ceremony marks the 70th anniversary of the first award won by England great Stanley Matthews, co-organizers France Football magazine and UEFA said on Thursday.
London also is the home city of England record scorer Harry Kane and the Arsenal team which won its first Premier League title in 22 years and plays for a first Champions League title on Saturday against Paris Saint-Germain.
Kane scored 61 goals in 51 games of a standout season for German champion Bayern Munich. That career-best total included 14 in the Champions League, where Bayern was edged by PSG in the semifinals, plus five more for England in a World Cup qualifying group.
The men's Ballon d’Or in Paris last year was won by Ousmane Dembélé after PSG won its first Champions League title.
Dembélé scored 19 in 39 games for PSG this season and started only 11 games in the Ligue 1 title campaign. He has seven goals in the Champions League ahead of facing Arsenal, including a key goal against Bayern, though he missed five of France’s six World Cup qualifying games while injured.
The winner of the past three women's Ballon d'Or awards, Aitana Bonmatí, missed most of the season through injury, returning at the end of Barcelona's quadruple-winning season that has included another Champions League title last Saturday against OL Lyonnes.
Ballon d'Or voters are a global panel of journalists who each pick their top 10 from a shortlist of 30 players presented by France Football, L'Equipe newspaper and UEFA.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Barcelona's Alexia Putellas celebrates with the trophy after winning the Women's Champions League final soccer match between FC Barcelona and OL Lyonnes, in Oslo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the DFB Pokal, German Cup final soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The packed race for California governor has left many Democrats in the state wrestling with who to vote for in the race's closing days.
Though voting began in early May ahead of the June 2 primary, Democrats have been returning their ballots at a slower pace than normal after a chaotic campaign full of surprises. Unlike recent races for governor, there's been no clear front-runner or political superstar (think Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger or Democrat Jerry Brown).
“I’m kind of pinching my nose and voting this go-around rather than being excited,” said Colin Culver, a 21-year-old San Diego resident who ultimately voted for Tom Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager turned climate activist.
Democrats have been particularly perplexed given the state's top-two primary system, which places all candidates on a single ballot regardless of party. There are roughly 60 candidates vying to succeed termed-out Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. They include six major Democrats and just two prominent Republicans.
With the large number of Democrats running, party leaders feared months ago that the two leading Republicans, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton, could advance, locking out Democrats. That scenario has grown less likely after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race after being accused of sexual assault, but the scandal further rattled anxious Democrats. President Donald Trump endorsed Hilton in April, which may have coalesced GOP support behind him and decreased the odds of a Republican upset in a state that hasn’t had a Republican governor since 2011.
But the fear among voters remains. Some Democrats are waiting to cast their ballots to see if one candidate breaks away from the pack in the final days, relying on polling to help make their decision. Others have struggled to make up their minds, reluctantly choosing a candidate after being unimpressed with the field.
Even Democrats who typically have a high turnout in primary elections — often older, white voters — have been slow to drop off their ballots, said Paul Mitchell, a Democratic strategist tracking ballot returns.
“My joke is: Call your Democratic parents and tell them to turn in their ballot,” he said. “They are holding onto the ballot because they have seen this kind of topsy-turvy governor’s race. They’re waiting to make sure they’re making the right choice.”
About 11% of the state's roughly 23 million voters had voted as of Wednesday night, according to Mitchell's tracker. That includes about 15% of Republicans, 11% of Democrats and 8% of voters registered with no or another party. That breakdown is unusual because Democrats in recent years have tended to vote early while many Republicans wait until Election Day.
Former state attorney general and federal Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and Steyer are among the top Democrats voters are weighing.
A poll conducted in mid-May by the Public Policy Institute of California found that Becerra and Hilton each have the support of about 2 in 10 likely California primary voters. Steyer, Bianco and former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter each drew the support of between 10% and 15% of likely voters in the survey. No other candidates were polling in double digits.
Support for Becerra has increased from only 5% in a PPIC poll conducted in late March and early April, when Swalwell was still in the race.
Some voters aren't relying on the polls to make their choice. That includes San Francisco native Mary O’Neal, who voted for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa because she liked his record leading the city from 2005 to 2013. Although he's been on the debate stages, he's failed to generate significant support.
Fresno native Alexa Duran, 22, a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, said she’s leaning toward Becerra, despite her concerns about his refusal as attorney general to investigate the killing of a Latino man by an officer in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2020.
“I know he has tons of political experience, but I’m just not sure if he’s the right candidate,” Duran said.
David Murayama, a 29-year-old attorney in Los Angeles, said that although Steyer was an appealing candidate at first, he felt like he couldn’t trust a billionaire to follow through on his promises. He ended up voting for Becerra, the candidate he considered the “lesser evil,” he said.
Amber Larson, 41, a judicial analyst for the state living in Chico, likes Ramsey Robinson, a socialist candidate. But casting her ballot for him would be a “waste” because of his slim odds, she said.
She doesn't want to support a longtime politician — Becerra — and she's skeptical of billionaires — Steyer.
“Are we at a point where only a billionaire can beat an establishment, career politician?” Larson said, referencing Steyer spending millions to largely self-fund his campaign.
She planned to go with Steyer anyway because she likes his energy affordability plans and since he's one of the leading candidates.
“I don’t want to throw my vote away,” she said.
Associated Press journalists Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Terry Chea in San Francisco contributed to this report.
Katie Porter raises her hand during a California gubernatorial debate hosted by CBS Bay Area and the San Francisco Examiner in San Francisco, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, Pool)
Tom Steyer speaks during a California gubernatorial debate hosted by CBS Bay Area and the San Francisco Examiner in San Francisco, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, Pool)
