France Football released the nominees for the 2025 Ballon d’Or today, with the ceremony set for September in Paris featuring both established stars and rising talents.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal will be looking to defend his Kopa Trophy crown after his brilliant performances helped Spain win Euro 2024 last year. The 18-year-old winger now finds himself battling nine other young talents for the prize awarded to the world’s best player under 21.
This year’s ceremony will make history by presenting the first-ever Women’s Kopa Trophy alongside the traditional men’s award, recognising the best young female footballer on the planet.
The Kopa Trophy, named after former Real Madrid legend Raymond Kopa who won the Ballon d’Or in 1958, differs from the Golden Boy award as it’s open to players from anywhere in the world, not just Europe.
African football legends Samuel Eto’o, Rigobert Song, Emmanuel Adebayor, Jay Jay Okocha, and others joined Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traore to officially reopen the country’s renovated national stadium in Ouagadougou on August 4 after years of closure due to CAF standards…
Omane Boamah and Murtala Mohammed: What to know about the 2 ministers killed in the helicopter crash
Yamal faces stiff competition from a talented bunch of youngsters.
READ ALSO: How the Ballon d’Or winner is decided: Does it favour Dembele or Lamine Yamal?
Competition for Lamine Yamal
PSG’s French midfielder Desire Doue and Portuguese star Joao Neves are among the favourites, while Chelsea’s Brazilian wonderkid Willian Estevao has been turning heads in the Premier League.
Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly represents England’s hopes, with the versatile defender making a big impression in his breakthrough season. Spain have two candidates, with Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsi joining Yamal on the list, while Real Madrid’s Dean Huijsen also makes the cut.
Lyon’s French talent Ayyoub Bouaddi, Porto’s Rodrigo Mora from Portugal, and Juventus striker Kenan Yildiz from Turkey complete the ten-man shortlist.
Previous winners include Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, who’ve both gone on to challenge for the main Ballon d’Or prize. Yamal will be hoping to follow that same path whilst first defending his crown.
MUST READ: Ballon d’Or 2025: British-Ghanaian star Michelle Agyemang nominated for Kopa Trophy
The ceremony takes place on Monday, September 22nd at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
![Tensions In NDC Against Mahama And Brothers For Retaining 14 Akufo-Addo Top Appointees [LIST]](https://hitzvibez.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/72E983F1-5BAD-4F94-A4F6-8352673547DF-scaled-390x220.jpeg)