Nigeria’s Justine Madugu and Chiamaka Nnadozie have made the shortlist for the 2025 Ballon d’Or awards, marking a proud moment for Nigerian football.
Madugu, head coach of the Super Falcons, was named among the top five contenders for the Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy, given to the best female coach in the world. She is listed alongside Sonia Bompastor of Chelsea, Arthur Elias of Brazil, Renée Slegers of Arsenal, and Sarina Wiegman of England.
Nnadozie, who plays as a goalkeeper for Brighton, also made the cut for the Women’s Yashin Trophy, an award reserved for the best female goalkeeper. The other nominees are Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC), Cata Coll (Barcelona), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), and Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal).
Nigerians have taken to social media to celebrate the news. One user, *footballbants*, posted, “Nnadozie deserves this and more. She’s world class.” Another fan, \_chika\_9ja, wrote, “Coach Madugu is putting Nigeria on the map again. Respect.”
In the men’s category, five clubs have been nominated for the Men’s Club of the Year. The list includes FC Barcelona, Botafogo, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Paris Saint-Germain.
The five coaches nominated for the Men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy are Antonio Conte (Napoli), Luis Enrique (PSG), Hansi Flick (Barcelona), Enzo Maresca (Chelsea), and Arne Slot (Liverpool).
Also revealed were nominees for the prestigious Men’s and Women’s Ballon d’Or trophies. Leading the men’s list are Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi, and Mohamed Salah, among others. For the women, names like Aitana Bonmatí, Alexia Putellas, and Barbra Banda stood out.
The 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony, organised by France Football, is expected to take place later in the year. The event will also honour the best young players, goalkeepers, clubs, and coaches, as well as players who have made major humanitarian impact.
Here is a full list of nominees:
Men’s Ballon d’Or nominees
Ousmane Dembélé (PSG and France)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG and Italy)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
Désiré Doué (PSG and France)
Denzel Dumfries (Internazionale and the Netherlands)
Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund and Guinea)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal and Sweden)
Achraf Hakimi (PSG and Morocco)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG and Georgia)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona and Poland)
Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool and Argentina)
Lautaro Martinez (Internazionale and Argentina)
Scott McTominay (Napoli and Scotland)
Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid and France)
Nuno Mendes (PSG and Portugal)
João Neves (PSG and Portugal)
Pedri (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Cole Palmer (Chelsea and England)
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich and France)
Raphinha (Barcelona and Brazil)
Declan Rice (Arsenal and England)
Fabián Ruiz (PSG and Spain)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Florian Wirtz (Liverpool and Spain)
Vitinha (PSG and Portugal)
Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid and Brazil)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool and the Netherlands)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)
Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees
Lucy Bronze (Chelsea and England)
Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride and Zambia)
Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea and France)
Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal and Spain)
Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit and Italy)
Steph Catley (Arsenal and Australia)
Melchie Daëlle Dumornay (OL Lyonnes and Haiti)
Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current and Malawi)
Emily Fox (Arsenal and USA)
Cristiana Girelli (Juventus and Italy)
Esther González (Gotham FC and Spain)
Caroline Graham Hansen (FC Barcelona and Norway)
Patri Guijarro (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras and Brazil)
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea and England)
Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich and Denmark)
Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes and USA)
Chloe Kelly (Arsenal and England)
Marta (Orlando Pride and Brazil)
Frida Leonhardsen Maanum (Arsenal and Norway)
Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona and Poland)
Clara Mateo (Paris FC and France)
Alessia Russo (Arsenal and England)
Claudia Pina (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea and Sweden)
Caroline Weir (Real Madrid and Scotland)
Leah Williamson (Arsenal and England)
Men’s Club of the Year nominees
FC Barcelona
Botafogo
Chelsea
Liverpool
Paris Saint-Germain
Women’s Club of the Year nominees
Arsenal
FC Barcelona
Chelsea
OL Lyonnes
Orlando Pride
Men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy nominees
Antonio Conte (Napoli)
Luis Enrique (PSG)
Hansi Flick (FC Barcelona)
Enzo Maresca (Chelsea)
Arne Slot (Liverpool)
Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy nominees
Sonia Bompastor (Chelsea)
Arthur Elias (Brazil)
Justine Madugu (Nigeria)
Renée Slegers (Arsenal)
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Men’s Yashin Trophy nominees
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa and Argentina)
Alisson Becker (Liverpool and Brazil)
Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal and Morocco)
Lucas Chevalier (Lille and France)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid and Belgium)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG and Italy)
Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid and Slovenia)
David Raya (Arsenal and Spain)
Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest and Belgium)
Yann Sommer (Internazionale and Switzerland)
Women’s Yashin Trophy nominees
Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC and Germany)
Cata Coll (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea and England)
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Brighton and Nigeria)
Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal and the Netherlands)
Men’s Kopa Trophy nominees
Pau Cubarsi (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille and France)
Désiré Doué (PSG and France)
Estevao (Chelsea and Brazil)
Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid and Spain)
Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal and England)
Rodrigo Mora (Porto and Portugal)
João Neves (PSG and Portugal)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Kenan Yildiz (Juventus and Türkiye)
Women’s Kopa Trophy nominees
Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal and England)
Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid and Colombia)
Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea and the Netherlands)
Claudia Martinez Ovando (Club Olimpia and Paraguay)
Vicky Lopez (FC Barcelona and Spain)
