Looks like France Football won’t be getting off the chopping block easily. Already, there were many talking points regarding the conclusion of the 2024 Ballon d’Or Men’s award. Now, another controversial issue has come up concerning the women’s game, especially after the nominated USWNT stars and head coach Emma Hayes missed out on the ceremony.

This issue has been brought to light by renowned Mail Sport journalist Kathryn Batte. In fact, it’s not something that she had pointed out recently; Batte had been reminding France Football about this issue since last year on October 30, 2023, when she tweeted on X, “A reminder that there is not a female equivalent of the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper at the #BallonDor – remarkable really.”

Interestingly, Kathryn’s point wasn’t noted by many as she again decided to retweet this exact post with a similar caption. On top of that, she again expressed her disbelief by pointing out another shocking fact. “A reminder that there is still not a female equivalent of the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper at the #BallonDor. And for a second year running the ceremony is taking place during a women’s international window👍🏻🙃,” she wrote.

While we saw the likes of Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martinez lifting his own Yashin Trophy or Lamine Yamal winning his Kopa Trophy, nothing of such sort has ever been organized by France Football for the women’s game. That too, despite such constant reminders from the very voices of soccer who fight each day for such justice.

We have always seen the topic of equality coming up in the beautiful game. Take USWNT, which has been one of the leading examples of women’s equality in the beautiful game. Their iconic players including Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have played a significant role in their fight for equal pay against the USSF.

But what about the rest of the Ballon d’Or awards that are specifically organized for men but not for women? While that’s the answer that France Football will have to give in their own time, we are sure that such a thing won’t take time to create havoc in the soccer world.

No wonder we saw the Ballon d’Or Feminin being introduced by the stakeholders of the event for the very first time in 2018. This year, they decided to announce the Best Coach of the Year award for the women’s game as well, which luckily enough for the USWNT, Emma Hayes was able to lift. Speaking of which, let’s hear some words from the former Chelsea boss!

Emma Hayes addresses her Johan Cruyff award by thanking USWNT and Chelsea

Emma Hayes had few words to say after winning the Johan Cruyff Award for being the best women’s coach of the year. “It’s an absolute honor to be recognized for the achievements with both the U.S. Women’s National Team and Chelsea,” said Hayes. While expressing her thanks to all the players, staff, and teams, she took a moment to praise her other rival nominees.

“They are exceptional coaches and I’m proud to be in the same company as them. As we all know, football is a team game and I’m very grateful to have led some amazing teams this year, so this award is for everyone who has been a part of the U.S. team and Chelsea,” added the English tactician, who didn’t make Thétre du Chtelet to collect the award.

That’s because the USWNT is bound to play its October window’s final friendly game against Argentina on October 30. That also explains the absence of five Stars and Stripes ft. ladies—Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan, and Alyssa Naeher—who were nominated for the prestigious award.