Good morning DC Footy Folk!

I spent the weekend at a Halloween party. My partner and I dressed up as game show hosts and had trivia questions we asked fellow party goers. On that note, hit me with your best bit of trivia (soccer or not soccer related) in the comments! I’ll add it to my list of trivia questions if it’s a good one!

Anyways, onto the footy news!

Kane and Putellas lift Ballon d’Or – plus all other award winners (BBC)

The Balon d’Or ceremony happened yesterday and an Englishman won it for only the 5th time ever and the first time in 25 years.

Here is the full list of winners from the star studded night:

Men’s Ballon d’Or winner – Harry Kane

Women’s Ballon d’Or winner – Alexia Putellas

Men’s striker of the year – Harry Kane

Women’s striker of the year – Charlyn Corral

Men’s club of the year – Paris St-Germain

Women’s club of the year – Barcelona

Socrates Award winner – Bukayo Saka

Men’s goalkeeper of the year – Unai Simón

Women’s goalkeeper of the year – Cata Coll

Men’s coach of the year – Luis de la Fuente

Women’s coach of the year – Pere Romeu

Women’s young talent of the year winner – Vicky López

Men’s young talent of the year winner – Lamine Yamal

Spain star Alexia Putellas wins third Ballon d’Or Feminin (USA Today)

Putellas wrestled away the Ballon d’Or Feminin from her old Barcelona teammate, Aitana Bonmati, who had won it three times in a row. Over the summer Putellas moved from Barcelona to London City Lionesses and now Michele Kang has a reigning Balon d’Or winner on one of her teams.

At risk of ‘stadium fatigue,’ D.C. Council weighs $300 million plus for Audi Field (WaPo)

Council member at large, Christina Henderson, mentions a feeling of “stadium fatigue” after the city has spent hundreds of millions already on the new Commanders stadium and Capital One arena renovations. With MLS moving to a Fall to Spring schedule, I do think a roof is necessary but should it come via public funding?

On a similar note, in this article by the Washington Sun, the Spirit sent a statement to The Sun reassuring their commitment to “stay in the District” with or without the roof renovations. Interesting wording…

USMNT midweek viewing guide: On we go (SSFC)

Here is a neat guide of some USMNT players playing in various competitions midweek including Pulisic in Serie A and Freeman in the Copa del Rey in Spain.

Three roles and a goal: USMNT’s ‘super player’ Alex Freeman is breaking out for Villarreal (The Guardian)

Speaking of Freeman…the 22 year old is quietly following up his breakout World Cup performance over the summer with some solid play in La Liga.

Kansas City Current’s Croix Bethune sets NWSL single-season assist record (ESPN)

This might have gone under the radar after the Spirit loss, but Croix Bethune continues to show off her magical touch by setting the single season assist record which now stands at 11 assists.

Croix (and others) will have the opportunity to add to their regular season totals one last time during the final round of games on Sunday. Above are some details about decision day. Of note, the only game that will be not behind a paywall will be Gotham vs Utah which will air on the main ESPN channel. All of other games, including Spirit vs Chicago, will be on ESPN+.

That’s it from me folks! See you in the comments!