The race to succeed 2019 winner Megan Rapinoe is on, with the best players from around the world all vying for top spot on the podium

After the award was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the race for the Ballon d'Or Feminin is back on in 2021.

It will be just the third time that the prize is won, having only been introduced in 2018. Lyon star Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural edition, before U.S. women's national team winger Megan Rapinoe picked the award up in 2019.

After difficult years for the two iconic teams, it is unlikely that anyone from Lyon or the USWNT has their names called out this winter, with Barcelona's incredible treble-winning season putting their stars at the forefront of the discussion.

But how much weight will the summer Olympics have? With a few of Canada's gold medallists nominated, plus some big names that always garner interest, it's difficult to predict how the voting will go.

With all that in mind, GOAL looks at how things may pan out…

Getty/Goal20Ellen White (Manchester City)

Ellen White was something of a surprise nomination on this list, given that Manchester City fell short of silverware in 2021, England's woes continued and Great Britain bowed out in the quarter-finals of the Olympics.

However, none of that was down to a lack of goals from the 32-year-old, who has netted consistently all year. In fact, perhaps the moment that defines her 2021 the most was her hat-trick in that last eight clash in Tokyo, which still, somehow, ended with her on the losing side.

AdvertisementGetty/Goal19Sandra Panos (Barcelona)

Sandra Panos can often be overlooked as one of the best goalkeepers around, simply due to the nature of the incredibly strong defence that protects her at Barcelona – and with the Spain national team, too.

However, her place on this shortlist is well deserved, for the 28-year-old is an incredibly dependable shot-stopper who more than played her part in Barca's treble-win.

Getty/Goal18Stina Blackstenius (Hacken)

Stina Blackstenius is the type of player whose excellent form might have been overlooked were it not for the Olympics.

The 25-year-old has netted a superb 31 goals this calendar year, five of which came at the Games in Tokyo and two of them coming in that mauling of the U.S. women's national team.

Getty/Goal17Sam Mewis (North Carolina Courage)

Sam Mewis' 2021 has been incredibly mixed. She shone with Manchester City in the first half of the year, though they would fall short in the Champions League and the Women's Super League title race.

She then had a less impactful Olympics with a struggling U.S. women's national team, though she did score a big goal in the quarter-finals and picked up a bronze medal.

But Mewis has not played since winning that in August, suffering an injury that continues to keep her out of action for the North Carolina Courage.