The race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards has officially begun, with the first batch of nominees announced ahead of the prestigious ceremony scheduled to hold in London on October 26.
The organisers released the shortlists for the Men’s Club of the Year and Women’s Club of the Year categories, marking the beginning of the unveiling process for the various award categories.
In the Men’s Club of the Year category, five teams were shortlisted for recognition based on their performances during the season.
The nominees are:
Men’s Coach of the Year
Mikel Arteta — Arsenal
Luis de la Fuente — Spain National Team
Unai Emery — Aston Villa
Vincent Kompany — Bayern Munich
Luis Enrique — Paris Saint-Germain
Women’s Coach of the Year
Jonatan Giráldez — OL Lyonnes
Andrée Jeglertz — Manchester City Women
Nils Nielsen — Japan National Team
Pere Romeu — FC Barcelona Femeni
Elena Sadiku — Celtic FC Women/BK Häcken
Men’s Club of the Year
Arsenal
Bayern Munich
Bodø/Glimt
Flamengo
Paris Saint-Germain
Women’s Club of the Year
FC Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Club América
Manchester City
OL Lyonnes
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year
Ann-Katrin Berger — Gotham FC/England
Cata Coll — FC Barcelona Femeni/Spain
Hannah Hampton — Chelsea FC/England
Lorena — Kansas City Current/Brazil
Ayaka Yamashita — Manchester City Women
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year
Yassine Bounou — Al-Hilal/Morocco
Thibaut Courtois — Real Madrid/Belgium
Joan García — FC Barcelona/Spain
Gregor Kobel — Borussia Dortmund/Switzerland
Emiliano Martínez –Aston Villa, Chelsea/Argentina
Edouard Mendy — Al-Ahli/Senegal
David Raya –Arsenal/Spain
Matvey Safonov — Paris Saint-Germain/Russia
Unai Simón — Athletic Bilbao/Spain
Vozinha (Josimar Dias) — GD Chaves, Colo-Colo/Cape Verde
More details to follow….
Dear Vows
