The Nominations For the Kopa Trophy have been announced
The official nominees for the 2026 Men’s and Women’s Young Talent of the Year awards (Kopa Trophies) at the Ballon d’Or ceremony feature 10 men and 5 women.
Men’s Young Talent of the Year (Kopa Trophy) Nominations :
| Sr No | Player | Country | Club |
| 1 | Lamine Yamal | Spain | FC Barcelona |
| 2 | Pau Cubarsi | Spain | FC Barcelona |
| 3 | Warren Zaire-Emery | France | PSG |
| 4 | Yan Diomande | Ivory Coast | RB Leipzig/Real Madrid |
| 5 | Ayyoub Bouaddi | Morocco | Lille/Manchester City |
| 6 | Eli Junior Kroupi | France | Bournemouth |
| 7 | Lennart Karl | Germany | Bayern |
| 8 | Ibrahim Maza | Algeria | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 9 | Johan Manzambi | Switzerland | Aston Villa |
| 10 | Kerim Alajbegovic | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Salzburg/Juventus |
Read on Martin Odegaard – The Incredible Viking
Women’s Young Talent of the Year Nominations :
| Sr. no | Player | Country | Club |
| 1 | Vicky Lopez | Spain | FC Barcelona |
| 2 | Clara Serrajordi | Spain | FC Barcelona |
| 3 | Veerle Buurman | Netherlands | Chelsea |
| 4 | Felicia Schroder | Sweden | BK Hacken/Real Madrid |
| 5 | Lily Yohannes | USA | OL Lyonnes |
Also Read: Johan Cruyff Trophy: The Best Coach Nominations
The Kopa Trophy is an association football award presented during the annual Ballon d’Or ceremony to the best-performing player under the age of 21.
Key details about the award:
Named After: French football legend Raymond Kopa, the 1958 Ballon d’Or winner.
Established: Introduced by France Football in 2018.
Eligibility: Open to male players worldwide under 21 years old (a Women’s Kopa Trophy equivalent was added alongside it). Unlike Tuttosport’s Golden Boy award, the Kopa Trophy is open to players competing outside of Europe.
Voting Process: Selected by a jury consisting exclusively of living former Ballon d’Or winners (such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldinho).
Notable Past Winners: Kylian Mbappé (2018), Matthijs de Ligt (2019), Pedri (2021), Gavi (2022), Jude Bellingham (2023), and Lamine Yamal (2024).
At the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony held in September 2025, FC Barcelona swept both young talent honours:
Lamine Yamal retained his title from 2024 to become the first back-to-back Kopa Trophy winner in the award’s history.
Vicky Lopez of Spain and FC Barcelona became the inaugural winner of the Women’s Kopa Trophy following its introduction at the 2025 awards.
Explore: Rivals Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark Having Fun Playing Together for US
[…] Read: Ballon d’Or, Kopa Trophy: The Men’s and Women’s Young Talent of the Year Nominations […]