Ballon d’Or: South African goalie, Williams, gets first-ever African-based player nomination

Ballon d'Or Yashin Trophy: South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams

South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has etched his name in history, becoming the first African-based player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or Yashin Trophy.

The announcement, made on Wednesday, 4 September, recognises Williams’ exceptional performance as one of the top 10 goalkeepers worldwide, competing alongside notable names like Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez and Portugal’s Diogo Costa.

PUNCH Online reported a full list of 60 nominees for football players—male and female—and another 10 for KopaTrophy nominees.

The Ballon d’Or awards ceremony will take place on Monday, 28 October 2024.

Williams, the captain of South Africa’s national team, Bafana Bafana, and current Mamelodi Sundowns star, is the first footballer playing on African soil to earn a nomination for the prestigious award.

Yashin Trophy

His selection highlights his standout performances, including a key role in Sundowns’ back-to-back league titles and his crucial saves during South Africa’s third-place finish at the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023.

PUNCH Online reports that the Yashin Trophy is an annual award given to the best goalkeeper in the world. It was introduced in 2019 as part of the Ballon d’Or awards, organised by France Football magazine.

Named after the legendary Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin, the only goalkeeper to ever win the Ballon d’Or (in 1963), the Yashin Trophy seeks to honour the best performances by a goalkeeper in a calendar year.

A Thursday statement from the CAF Online website titled, “Williams makes history as first African-based footballer to make Ballon d’Or nominees list,” revealed this.

Weah’s 1995 stints

To date, African football icon George Weah remains the only African to be voted the best player in the world after winning the Ballon d’Or in 1995, ahead of Germany’s Jurgen Klinsmann and Finland’s Jari Litman.

Weah was also the first non-European to win the award.

Williams (32) has been on a meteoric rise since joining former African champions Mamelodi Sundowns from cross-town rivals and boyhood club, SuperSport United in July 2022.

“The Bafana Bafana skipper was a pivotal cog in Mamelodi Sundowns’ back-to-back titles since joining the club. A feat that elevated his place in the national team to being the number one goalkeeper.

“The Gqeberha-born goalkeeper literally grabbed the challenge of being Hugo Broos’ trusted keeper with both hands, putting up undoubtedly one of the standout performances at the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023, where he denied Cape Verde four times in a quarter-final penalty shootout.

“Williams’ acrobatics and penalty saves also came to the fore in the third-place play-off against DR Congo, where he saved two penalties to help his nation to a podium finish that was accompanied by him being voted the Goalkeeper of the Tournament at the continental showpiece.

“The Sundowns keeper, who is currently out nursing a shoulder injury, was also instrumental in Sundowns’ African Football League (AFL) triumph, playing a crucial role as the last line of defence in helping his side to their second continental trophy after their 2016 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League success,” it read.

Ballon d’Or Yashin Trophy Nominees

Diogo Costa (Portugal), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy), Gregor Kobel (Switzerland), Andriy Lunin (Ukraine), Mike Maignan (France), Giorgi Mamarsdashvili (Georgia), Emiliano Martinez (Argentina), Unai Simon (Spain), Yann Sommer (Switzerland), Ronwen Williams (South Africa).