England's four Lionesses nominated for Ballon d'Or will SNUB tonight's ceremony
England midfielder Georgia Stanway says it is disappointing several female players will miss out on the chance to attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony because it clashes with international matches.
Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati is expected to win the award but Stanway is one of four Lionesses to have been nominated alongside Millie Bright, Mary Earps and Rachel Daly.
But with England facing a crucial Nations League fixture in Belgium on Tuesday night, none of the nominated players are able to attend the ceremony in Paris.
‘It’s nice to get the accolade as well as a lot of the teammates in the Lionesses. There's a few people that I would also add to the list that have had very, very successful years.
‘It’s a real achievement to be amongst them names and it's unfortunate that we couldn't be there.
'That's something that we spoke as a player group, and we just kind of said, “it would be nice in the future if it wasn't on a matchday minus one so we could enjoy the experience.”
‘It’s potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You never know if you're ever going to get selected for such an accolade like that again, so it would be really nice to enjoy the experience and be there and feel like a star amongst the stars.
‘If it was planned a little bit better then it would be easier for a lot of female footballers to be there.’
There will be some female players in attendance in Paris, with Barcelona understood to have chartered a plane for their nominated players.
Spain are also in Nations League action on Tuesday night, with Montse Tome’s side taking on Switzerland in Zurich.
England boss Sarina Wiegman insisted her team ‘has a job to do’ but admitted it would have been nice if the ceremony had been scheduled on a day that
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