51st FIFA Congress and president of the European football governing body UEFA Lennart Johansson considered the favourite to win. Johansson's rival was the Swiss-German football executive Joseph "Sepp" Blatter who had previously been an executive at the Swiss watch manufactures Longines and had served as the general secretary of FIFA since 1981. The first round of voting in the election did not produce a clear victor, with Blatter receiving 111 votes to Johansson's 80, but Johansson conceded victory. 51st FIFA Congress The 51st FIFA Congress was held between 6 and 8 June 1998, at the Equinox congress hall in Paris, France, just before
2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or Lothar Matthäus, Pelé and FIFA president Sepp Blatter side-by-side with pop singer Shakira. The top three nominees for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or were: The following 20 men were also in contention for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011: The top three nominees for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year were: The following seven women were also in contention for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year: The day after the awards ceremony, Spanish newspaper "Marca" reported that none of the four captains of the Spanish women's national team had voted for the Women's World Player