{"id":78043,"date":"2026-10-31T15:46:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T10:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/31\/riaan-ghodawat-becomes-the-first-indian-to-attend-the-ballon-dor\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T15:46:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T10:16:03","slug":"riaan-ghodawat-becomes-the-first-indian-to-attend-the-ballon-dor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/31\/riaan-ghodawat-becomes-the-first-indian-to-attend-the-ballon-dor\/","title":{"rendered":"Riaan Ghodawat Becomes the First Indian to Attend the Ballon d\u2019Or"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The young footballer from India attended football\u2019s most celebrated awards ceremony in London, an early glimpse of a world he hopes to inhabit one day as a player<\/em><\/p>\n

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 31: <\/strong>The young footballer from India attended football\u2019s most prestigious awards ceremony in London, an early glimpse of a world he hopes to inhabit one day as a player<\/em><\/p>\n

30th October 2026:<\/strong> At 11, Riaan Ghodawat has already stepped into a world most young footballers can only dream of entering.<\/strong> On 26 October 2026<\/strong>, he attended the Ballon d\u2019Or ceremony in London<\/strong>, believed to be the first Indian to do so, and came face to face with the people and achievements that define the game he hopes to one day play at the highest level.<\/p>\n

A member of the Real Madrid Academy India<\/strong>, Riaan has already gained international exposure through football. He has attended training camps organised by Paris Saint-Germain and West Ham United in London<\/strong>, competed at the Real Madrid World Championship in Madrid<\/strong> and the Singa Cup in Singapore<\/strong>, and travelled to Barcelona to watch El Cl\u00e1sico between Real Madrid and Barcelona<\/strong>. His progress has drawn interest from clubs in the UK, and he has received offers to join them.<\/p>\n

The Ballon d\u2019Or<\/strong> offered Riaan a different perspective on the sport. Away from the training ground and the match-day routine, he experienced an evening that brought together football\u2019s leading names and celebrated its finest achievements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found out I was going to the Ballon d\u2019Or, I could not stop smiling,\u201d<\/em> said Riaan<\/strong>. \u201cI have watched these players on screen and followed their journeys. Being in the same room as them was something I had never imagined. It made me want to work even harder at my football.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His ambitions, however, remain firmly on the pitch. Riaan hopes to play for FC Barcelona or Real Madrid<\/strong>, and the Ballon d\u2019Or has become part of that picture: no longer a distant spectacle, but an occasion he wants to return to in a different role. \u201cI want to play for FC Barcelona or Real Madrid and return to the Ballon d\u2019Or as a player,\u201d<\/em> he said. \u201cFor now, I know I have a lot to learn, and I want to keep training and getting better.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

For Riaan, the evening in London was a memorable moment in a football journey that is still at its beginning. The focus now returns to the pitch, where the work towards his ambitions continues.<\/p>\n

About Riaan Ghodawat<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Riaan Ghodawat<\/strong> is an eleven-year-old footballer from India and a member of the Real Madrid Academy India<\/strong>. His football journey has included training camps with Paris Saint-Germain and West Ham United<\/strong>, international tournaments in Madrid and Singapore<\/strong>, and attendance at the 2026 Ballon d\u2019Or ceremony in London<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Media contact:<\/strong>
Krishika Rathod<\/strong>
krishika@bluebuzz.in<\/a>
<\/strong>9137810930<\/p>\n

If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The young footballer from India attended football\u2019s most celebrated awards ceremony in London, an early glimpse of a world he hopes to inhabit one day as a player Mumbai (Maharashtra) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":78044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_rishi_post_view_count":12},"categories":[7],"tags":[673],"class_list":["post-78043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-lifestyle","rishi-post"],"rishi__cb_customizer_meta":"","comments_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}