Ballon d’Or 2026: 10 Africans Nominated as the 31-Year Wait for Another Winner Continues 

It's Ballon d'Or o'clock again.

The names are out, the arguments can begin, and this year Africa has more than a few players to watch.

On September 8, 2026,France Football announced the nominees for this year's Ballon d'Or awards, putting 30 players in the running for the men's prize and another 30 on the women's shortlist. The organisation also announced nominees for the goalkeeper and young-player awards.

The winners will be announced on October 26 at the London Palladium Theatre. It will be the 70th edition of the Ballon d'Or, with the organisers choosing London to pay tribute to Stanley Matthews, the Englishman who won the first award in 1956.

And yes, Africa is on the list.

George Weah is still the name Africa is chasing

There is one number that puts this year's nominations into perspective: 31.

That is how many years it has been sinceGeorge Weah became the first, and so far only, African player to win the Ballon d'Or in 1995.

The Liberian's victory remains a landmark moment in African football. Since then, players such as Samuel Eto'o, Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané have all had seasons that put them among the world's best, but none has taken the prize.

That is the backdrop to this year's list. Ten African players have been nominated across four categories, but the men's award still has no African successor to Weah.

Hakimi and Mané make the main list

For the men's Ballon d'Or, Africa has two names to follow: Morocco's Achraf Hakimi and Senegal's Sadio Mané.

Hakimi is back on the list after another major season with Paris Saint-Germain. The Morocco international is among the PSG players nominated after the club's successful campaign.

Mané, meanwhile, is also in the running. The Senegal forward, who plays for Al-Nassr, has been nominated for the award for the fifth time in his career.

The two Africans will be up against some of the biggest names in football, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and reigning winner Ousmane Dembélé.

Mané has previously come close to winning the award. He finished fourth in 2019 before placing second in 2022, when Karim Benzema took the prize.

Two African women make the shortlist

Zambia's Barbra Banda and Malawi's Temwa Chawinga are both among the 30 nominees for the women's Ballon d'Or.

Banda plays for Orlando Pride, while Chawinga represents Kansas City Current.

They give Africa two representatives in a women's race that includes some of the biggest names in the sport.

Three African youngsters are nominated

Africa also has three names in the race for theMen's Young Talent of the Year award.

• Ayyoub Bouaddi — Morocco

• Yan Diomandé — Côte d'Ivoire

• Ibrahim Maza — Algeria

For these three, the nomination puts their names on a much bigger stage alongside established stars already competing for the main award.

Three African goalkeepers are in the race

The goalkeeper shortlist adds three more African names: Yassine Bounou of Morocco, Édouard Mendy of Senegal and Cape Verde's Vozinha.

Bounou has been one of Morocco's standout goalkeepers in recent years, including during the country's historic run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.

Mendy was part of Senegal's Africa Cup of Nations-winning team in 2022 and has also established himself as one of the continent's best-known goalkeepers.

Then there is Vozinha, whose nomination comes afterCape Verde's World Cup run. The goalkeeper helped the debutant nation reach the knockout stage before they lost to Argentina in extra time.

So Africa arrives at the 2026 Ballon d'Or with 10 nominees from seven countries: Morocco, Senegal, Zambia, Malawi, Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria and Cape Verde.

The list is broad but the challenge at the very top remains familiar.