In 2018, Ada Hegerberg became the first woman to be awarded the Ballon d’Or – watch her talk about the meaning of the award in the player above.
At the end of October, the Norwegian women’s national team faces Albania in two playoff matches for the EC. In the middle of the gathering, between the meetings, a gala is held in Paris where the award for the world’s best player on the men’s and women’s side, the Ballon d’Or, is awarded.
Ada Hegerberg, on a daily basis in Lyon, criticizes the fact that the award is handed out the day before Norway’s national team match against Albania.
– In the phase I’m in now, I can’t afford to go to the gala. We have a very important qualifier and it’s a real shame that they put the gala on that date. It’s something they have to do something about if they want to have the best female players out there, she tells NRK.
Fly by private plane
Chelsea star Guro Reiten, national team colleague, fits in.
– The timing is really bad, she says.
The Norwegian national team also includes Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen, one of the favorites to win the award. According to information to NRK, the club and the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) have joined together to fly over the star to the award ceremony with a private plane.
NRK has contacted France Football, which organizes the gala together with Uefa, without receiving any response. But in a statement to The Guardian, they replied that they wanted to wait until the season and the Olympics were over, and that they wanted to avoid a clash with national leagues in Europe.
– Because of those criteria, October 28 was the only date that was relevant before mid-December, which we believe was too late, writes the organizer.
Norway’s first meeting with Albania is played on October 25 and the return takes place on October 29. The gala is held the day before the second match, October 28.