The 2024 Ballon d'Or nominees have been announced. Ademola Lookman is the only African player shortlisted this year for the prestigious award.
Lookman's impressive performances in Serie A with Atalanta, his historic hat-trick in the UEFA Europa League final and the AFCON 2023 have made him a strong contender for the award.
Ademola Lookman's nomination for the Ballon d'Or has fuelled hopes that he will succeed Victor Osimhen as African Footballer of the Year, building on his impressive international performances.
Osimhen made history last season, finishing eighth in the Ballon d'Or rankings, ahead of many other superstars.
Nigerian Ademola Lookman nominated for the Ballon d'Or
The Super Eagles have already sent a congratulatory message hailing Lookman's nomination for one of the most prestigious individual awards in football.
“Congratulations to our @Alookman_ who has been nominated for the @ballondor award. Good luck Demola 🔥🙌🏽 #soarsupereagles,” read a post on the Super Eagles X page.
Full list of nominees
The list of 30 candidates includes:
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Full list of candidates for the Ballon d'Or
Antonio Rudiger – Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé – Real Madrid
Lautaro Martinez – Inter
Ademola Lookman – Atalanta
Alejandro Grimaldo – Bayer Leverkusen
Dani Carvajal – Real Madrid
William Saliba – Arsenal
Yamal sheet – Barcelona
Bukayo Saka – Arsenal
Hakan Calhanoglu – Inter
Declan Rice-Arsenal
Harry Kane – Bayern Munich
Cole Palmer – Chelsea
Vitinha – PSG
Vinicius Jr – Real Madrid
Martin Odegaard – Arsenal
Dani Olmo – Barcelona
Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen
Mats Hummels – Roma
Erling Haaland – Manchester City
Nicolas Williams – Athletic Bilbao
Granit Xhaka – Bayer Leverkusen
Artem Dovbik – Roma
Toni Kroos – Real Madrid
Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid
Phil Foden – Manchester City
Ruben Dias – Manchester City
Federico Valverde – Real Madrid
Emiliano Martinez – Aston Villa
Women's categories
The Ballon d'Or also recognises outstanding achievements in women's football, with the following nominees:
Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona, Chelsea, Lyon, PSG
Female Coach of the Year:
Sonia Bompastor (Lyon/Chelsea), Arthur Elias (Corinthians/Brazil), Jonatan Giraldez (Barcelona/Washington Spirit), Filipa Patao (Benfica), Sarina Wiegman (England)
Player of the year:
Lauren Hemp (Man City), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit) and Barbra Banda Shanghai (Shanghai RCB/Orlando Pride) head the list…
Men's categories
Men's Club of the Year:
Borussia Dortmund, Girona, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Manchester City
Men's Coach of the Year:
Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso, Luis de la Fuente, Gian Piero Gasperini, Pep Guardiola, Lionel Scaloni
Yachine Trophy (Best Goalkeeper): Diogo Costa, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Gregor Kobel, Andrei Lunine and Mike Maignan head the list…
Kopa Trophy (Best Young Player): Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Garnacho, Arda Guler, Karim Konate and Kobbie Mainoo lead the list of nominees…
Award Ceremony
The 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place on October 28 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and will celebrate individual awards for the world's most prestigious footballers.