2026 Ballon d'Or: Hakimi 13th, top African, and Temwa Chawinga in the women's top 10

Moroccan Achraf Hakimi finished in 13th place for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, awarded on October 26, 2026, in London to Britain's Harry Kane, the first Englishman to win the award in twenty-five years according to franceinfo. The Paris Saint-Germain full-back is the highest-ranked African for the second time in his career, report Hespress and Africa Radio.

Absent due to a match

Hakimi, who won the Champions League and Ligue 1 with PSG, was not in the room: he was playing a rescheduled match for the 8th day of Ligue 1 against Olympique Lyonnais that same evening, wearing the captain's armband, specifies Africa Radio. Senegalese player Sadio Mané, the only other African among the thirty nominees, took 29th place, tied with Frenchman William Saliba, according to Fratmat, as reported by allAfrica.

African women ranked higher than African men

In the women's category, the continent is on the rise. Malawian striker Temwa Chawinga ranked 10th in the women's Ballon d'Or and Zambian Barbra Banda 18th, according to allAfrica and Africa Radio. Two Southern African countries that world football ignored ten years ago are now placing their players in the global hierarchy.

The continent was also well represented in the secondary categories. Three African goalkeepers were among the nominees for the goalkeeper of the year award: Moroccan Yassine Bounou, Senegalese Édouard Mendy, and Cape Verdean Vozinha. The trophy went to Spaniard Unai Simón. Among the youth, Ivorian Yan Diomandé was one of the ten finalists in a category won by Spaniard Lamine Yamal.

A wait lasting since 1995

No African player has won the Ballon d'Or since Liberian George Weah in 1995. Honorary rankings do not compensate for a voting system where visibility counts as much as talent: being a Moroccan defender in a French team means scoring fewer goals and making less noise than an English center-forward.

Nevertheless, these honorary rankings also signal progress: a Moroccan defender in the world's top 15, two African women in the top twenty of the women's rankings, and a 19-year-old Ivorian already among the ten best young players on the planet. Africa is no longer waiting to be invited to the table: it is already seated there.