Ousmane Dembélé and Chloe Kelly nominated for men's and women's Ballon d'Or awards
Paris, Aug 8 (AP): Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé and England forward Chloe Kelly are among the contenders to win the men's and women's Ballon d'Or award.
The 30 men's and 30 women's nominees were revealed Thursday by France Football magazine, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony in Paris on Sept. 22.
The 28-year-old Dembélé was inspirational in leading PSG to its first Champions League title after years of falling short and helped the French club complete a treble. He scored a career-high 35 goals overall for PSG last season.
Teenage star Lamine Yamal, whose mesmerizing performances lit up the Champions League and helped Barcelona win the Spanish league title, is among the other men's nominees.
Kelly starred for England at Euros
When England won the women's European Championship last month, the 27-year-old Kelly blasted home the decisive penalty in the final against World Cup winner Spain. She also played a key role earlier in the tense knockout stages.
Last season, Kelly played on the right flank as Arsenal won the women's Champions League with another against-the-odds win over powerhouse Barcelona.
She faces competition from defender Lucy Bronze and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton — her England teammates who both play for Chelsea — and from Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, the winner of the past two awards.
Barcelona players have won the past four women's awards. Bronze was runner-up in 2019 to U.S. forward Megan Rapinoe.
PSG players in the spotlight
Dembélé was one of nine PSG players nominated for the men's award, including goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, forward Désiré Doué, who scored twice in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the Champions League final, and inspirational winger Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia, who joined from Napoli in the January transfer window.
The other men's nominees include Egypt striker Mo Salah, whose 29 league goals helped Liverpool win the Premier League, and prolific Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé, who netted 44 times for Madrid last season.
Midfielder Rodri won the Ballon d'Or last year after impressing with Manchester City and Spain but missed most of last season with a knee injury.
Real Madrid snubbed the star-studded ceremony last year in apparent protest because its forward Vinícius Júnior finished in second place. After staying away, Madrid and its players then vented their feelings on social media.
The voting system
The Ballon d'Or was created by France Football magazine and has been awarded since 1956 for men, and since 2018 for women. It is voted for by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings for the men's award and the top 50 FIFA-ranked countries for the women's award.
Each journalist, one per country, selects players in ranked order with points attributed to each position. The winner is the player who receives the most points.
Other nominations
PSG coach Luis Enrique was among the nominees for best men's coach and England's Sarina Wiegman best women's coach.
Donnarumma, whose shot-stopping in the knockout stages proved crucial to PSG's success, is favored to win the Lev Yashin award for best men's goalkeeper, while Hampton is among the five women's candidates for that award.
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Parents fear uncertainty after Karnataka govt rules out age limit relaxation for Class 1 admission
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ruled out any relaxation of the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 beginning with the academic year 2026-27. Following the refusal, a group of parents continues to press for leniency.
Parents of children who fall under the age of six by a small margin on the cut-off date have met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior officials from the Department of School Education and Literacy to request an exemption. School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the government will not change its decision, as reported by Deccan Herald.
According to the minister, children must be six years old by June 1 to be eligible for admission to Class 1. beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. He noted that the previous relaxation was a one-time measure that was clearly confined to the 2025-26 academic year.
“If such requests are entertained every year, it will never end. While granting relaxation last year, it was explicitly stated that it applied only to one academic year. From 2026-27 onwards, the rule will be strictly implemented,” Bangarappa was quoted by DH.
Parents argue that the rigid cut-off is affecting children who are short by a few days. One parent was quoted by DH as saying that his daughter would be 12 days short of completing six years on June 1. Such parents would be forced to repeat a year despite being academically ready. Others pointed out that children promoted from LKG to UKG during the 2025-26 academic year are now facing uncertainty over their transition to Class 1.
Few parents also recalled that earlier, admissions were allowed for children aged between five years and 10 months and six years. Parents saw it as a more practical approach, with children born in November and December being disproportionately affected.
The issue of age criterion goes back to a government order issued in July 2022. The order mandated six years as the minimum age for Class 1 admission. Parents of children already enrolled in pre-primary classes, protested against the order and the state deferred implementation, announcing that the rule would come into force from the 2025-26 academic year.
After renewed pressure, the government granted a one-year relaxation for 2025-26, citing the large number of students affected and in consultation with the State Education Policy Commission. While announcing the exemption, the minister had stated that no further concessions would be allowed.
