FIFA have struck a deal with the Ballon d'Or organisers so that the venerable award for the world's top player will replace the governing body's own player-of-the-year award.
The revamped award will be presented at a gala in Zurich on January 10.
The Ballon d'Or is presented by France Football magazine and dates back to 1956 when Stanley Matthews was the first winner. In 2007 the prize was expanded to become a global accolade, rather than simply a European award. In the last five years, the FIFA award has been a duplication of the Ballon d'Or with the same players chosen each time.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said: "The winner is football because as of January we will have one single trophy for the best player of the world and this will be the Ballon d'Or."
France Football said they would expand their panel of judges to include coaches, technical experts and journalists from across the world.
Only once has a Premier League player won FIFA's award since it was launched in 1991, and that was Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008 when he scooped both trophies.
Michael Owen won the Ballon d'Or in 2001, and the other British winners are Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979), George Best (1968), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Denis Law (1964).
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Wives and girlfriends of the Holland squad spent the day touring Robben Island - some Dutch and German players have already visited the old prison where Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his 27 years in jail.
England's players were given the chance to view the historic site the day after the 0-0 draw with Algeria but no one took up the offer.
The reason given was the players were worried it might look as though they were enjoying themselves too much after such a poor performance.
Ghana's players have showed rather more reverence with some, including Sulley Muntari, in tears after visiting Mandela at his home on Sunday.
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A group of fans from El Salvador, who have been at the World Cup since the start after winning a dream prize from a South African brewery, have been throwing their support behind Spanish-speaking nations.
They encountered some English people at the Uruguay v Ghana game and explained why they are backing the South Americans first, ahead of Spain.
One said: "Uruguay is close to us - it's like people in Scotland supporting England at the World Cup."
"It doesn't quite work like that," replied one of the English fans.
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Good news/bad news. Good news: Diego Maradona is not going to run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires - his vow if Argentina won. Bad news: lingerie model Larissa Riquelme will not be doing so either through the streets of Asuncion now that Paraguay are out.
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You can prove anything with statistics of course, but perhaps those stats on the number of passes by all players at this World Cup is an indication of where the trophy might be heading.
Four of the top five players for passing the ball are Spanish - Xavi is way out in front with 464 passes, followed by Xabi Alonso (406), Sergio Busquets (400), German's Sebastian Schweinsteiger (382) and centre-back Gerard Pique (375).
The player with the highest percentage of pass completions is also Spanish - their other central defender Carles Puyol, who has a 90% accuracy rate.
Needless to say, none of the England squad feature anywhere near the top in either list.
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US Soccer's president Sunil Gulati is renowned for having a sharp-witted tongue and he let no one down when asked whether having a star name as coach - instead of Bob Bradley - would capture more interest.
Gulati said: "Would it be nice to have someone who is American, had won a World Cup as a coach and as a player, was charismatic, spoke multiple languages? Yes. But I don't know of any such person.
"We capture far more interest by having a good team, and that is the critical element."
The Ballon d'Or is presented by France Football magazine and dates back to 1956 when Stanley Matthews was the first winner. In 2007 the prize was expanded to become a global accolade, rather than simply a European award. In the last five years, the FIFA award has been a duplication of the Ballon d'Or with the same players chosen each time.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said: "The winner is football because as of January we will have one single trophy for the best player of the world and this will be the Ballon d'Or."
France Football said they would expand their panel of judges to include coaches, technical experts and journalists from across the world.
Only once has a Premier League player won FIFA's award since it was launched in 1991, and that was Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008 when he scooped both trophies.
Michael Owen won the Ballon d'Or in 2001, and the other British winners are Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979), George Best (1968), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Denis Law (1964).
*****
Wives and girlfriends of the Holland squad spent the day touring Robben Island - some Dutch and German players have already visited the old prison where Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his 27 years in jail.
England's players were given the chance to view the historic site the day after the 0-0 draw with Algeria but no one took up the offer.
The reason given was the players were worried it might look as though they were enjoying themselves too much after such a poor performance.
Ghana's players have showed rather more reverence with some, including Sulley Muntari, in tears after visiting Mandela at his home on Sunday.
*****
A group of fans from El Salvador, who have been at the World Cup since the start after winning a dream prize from a South African brewery, have been throwing their support behind Spanish-speaking nations.
They encountered some English people at the Uruguay v Ghana game and explained why they are backing the South Americans first, ahead of Spain.
One said: "Uruguay is close to us - it's like people in Scotland supporting England at the World Cup."
"It doesn't quite work like that," replied one of the English fans.
*****
Good news/bad news. Good news: Diego Maradona is not going to run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires - his vow if Argentina won. Bad news: lingerie model Larissa Riquelme will not be doing so either through the streets of Asuncion now that Paraguay are out.
*****
You can prove anything with statistics of course, but perhaps those stats on the number of passes by all players at this World Cup is an indication of where the trophy might be heading.
Four of the top five players for passing the ball are Spanish - Xavi is way out in front with 464 passes, followed by Xabi Alonso (406), Sergio Busquets (400), German's Sebastian Schweinsteiger (382) and centre-back Gerard Pique (375).
The player with the highest percentage of pass completions is also Spanish - their other central defender Carles Puyol, who has a 90% accuracy rate.
Needless to say, none of the England squad feature anywhere near the top in either list.
*****
US Soccer's president Sunil Gulati is renowned for having a sharp-witted tongue and he let no one down when asked whether having a star name as coach - instead of Bob Bradley - would capture more interest.
Gulati said: "Would it be nice to have someone who is American, had won a World Cup as a coach and as a player, was charismatic, spoke multiple languages? Yes. But I don't know of any such person.
"We capture far more interest by having a good team, and that is the critical element."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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