The award ceremony, which was created and decided by the French football magazine, is in its 63rd year and will take place December 3 in Paris.

The Ballon d'Or merged with the FIFA awards from 2010-15 but split two years ago. FIFA award their best women's player for 2018 to Brazilian forward Marta.

The magazine wrote it was only logical to create the new award with the growth of women's football.

"It's merely a logical evolution for a discipline that is expanding rapidly. It's a boom that can be seen in the emergence of a number of clubs which are increasingly well structured, the number of registered players, TV audiences, and crowds," French Football said when announcing the initiative.

The winner will be selected by a panel of specialised women's football journalists around the world and France Football.

"The jury won't be the same as the jury voting for the men," Magazine Editor Pascal Ferre told the AP. 

"Only experts can vote. I'm confident we will get a jury of about 40 journalists, from countries where women's soccer is growing."

The 15 finalists for the award is set to be unveiled on October 8 alongside the 30-man selection.