The Ballon d’Or Ceremony 2024 will recognize the brilliance of the world’s best with a range of different awards.
The evolution of the sport beyond Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo adds a lot of intrigue the grand prize winnerbut the Oct. 28 ceremony will also celebrate the off-field work of a selfless star through the Socrates Award.
The award pays tribute to a former great revered for his commitment to social causes and at this year’s ceremony the third winner of the new award will be named.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the award that you may not know too much about.
France Footballthe organizers of the Ballon d’Or, confirmed in 2022 that they were adding a humanitarian award to their ceremony named after former Brazilian footballer Socrates.
“The Socrates Award will identify the best social initiative of committed champions,” says a press release from the magazine.
The initiatives recognized as part of this award are wide-ranging, such as promoting social integration, protecting the environment and providing aid to victims of conflict.
We are not talking about the philosopher here, but one of the best midfielders in football. Socrates represented Brazil 60 times between 1979 and 1986, captaining his country to the 1982 World Cup.
On the pitch, Socrates was revered for his grace and elegance, but was also a regular contributor in the final third, described by author Jonathan Wilson as the “brains” of a great team Brazilian of all time. He was a special character steeped in eccentricity and his rebellious nature made him very interested in a number of social issues.
Socrates was relentless on the humanitarian front and an important part of his legacy can be traced back to work outside the field. He opposed the military government of Brazil in the 1980s through the Corinthians Democracy movement that protested against the regime’s treatment of footballers and aimed to re-democratize the country.
“Socrates always believed in the power of sports to mobilize and transform society to make it more equal,” younger brother Rai said in a 2022 statement. “He demonstrated this as a player through his fight for the re-democratization of Brazil.
“11 (now 13) years after his death, he remains the symbol of the champion committed to a more just world.”
The Socrates Prize was first awarded in 2022, so there have been two previous winners before the 2024 ceremony on 28 October.
modern Liverpool icon Sadio Manewho is now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia after a disappointing period a Bayern Munichhe became the first winner of his humanitarian work in Senegal.
Mane donated to the Senegalese National Committee to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic and was a major contributor to the construction of a public hospital and the funding of several schools in his home village of Bambali.
“I’m happy to be here. I don’t like to talk about what I do, but I do what I can for my people and try to improve things in my country,” said Mané upon receiving the award in the French capital. .
@vinijrfounder of the Vini.Jr Institute, he is the winner of the Socrates Award!#Socrates Award with @peace and sport pic.twitter.com/dmgYtCiHeB
— Golden Ball (@ballondor) October 30, 2023
brazilian superstar Vinicius Junior he was the second winner in 2023. The 2024 Ballon d’Or favorite has created the Vini Jr Institute which uses technology to educate underprivileged children in his homeland. Vinicius invested more than 1 million euros in his foundation last year and this figure is expected to increase to 2.5 million euros by the end of 2024.
The Madrid star was also recognized for his fight against racism after being abused on several occasions in stadiums across Spain.
“We must raise our voices, always a little more and together. I want a world where a father conveys to his son that being racist is bad,” said Vinicius after claiming the award.
All Socrates Prize winners
|
year |
winner |
|---|---|
|
2022 |
Sadio Mane |
|
2023 |
Vinicius Junior |
Unlike the other awards presented during the Ballon d’Or ceremony, no candidates are announced for the 2024 Socrates Award.
The winner is decided by a jury made up of former Brazilian internationals and Sócrates’ younger brother Rai, as well as representatives of France Football and leaders of the Peace and Sport organization based in Monaco.
