{
  "id": 16661607,
  "title": "Ballon d’Or ‘winners’ published by mistake hours before men’s award",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/ballon-dor-winners-published-by-mistake-hours-before-mens-award",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-26T21:15:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Winnipeg Free Press",
    "slug": "winnipeg-free-press",
    "url": "https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/soccer/2026/10/26/ballon-dor-winners-published-by-mistake-hours-before-mens-award"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Organizers of the prestigious Ballon d’Or event inadvertently published multiple \"winners\" of the men's award on their website hours before the ceremony, sparking confusion and amusement among fans. The mistake, made by France Football, saw articles claiming Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, and Kylian Mbappé as winners, despite the final results still remaining a mystery. The organizer explained that these announcements were part of their preparation for the event, intending to have ready profiles for all nominees. However, they were mistakenly published online well ahead of time. The organizer emphasized that these articles should not be taken as any indication of the final results or rankings.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "France Football mistakenly published three men's Ballon d’Or winners.",
    "Articles claimed Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, and Kylian Mbappé as winners.",
    "Organizer explained the error was for preparation, not final results."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}