Four Arab Footballers Nominated for 2026 Ballon d’Or Award

Achraf Hakimi is back among the 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or after a career-best sixth-place finish in last year’s voting.

The Paris Saint-Germain right-back played a major role in another historic Champions League campaign, making 13 appearances and providing six assists as PSG successfully defended their European title.

Hakimi also continues to be a key figure for Morocco, with the captain carrying his club form onto the international stage.

This is Hakimi’s second Ballon d’Or nomination, making him one of only two Moroccans ever to be nominated for the main award alongside Yassine Bounou.

Yassine Bounou is once again in contention for the Yashin Trophy, the award presented to the world’s best goalkeeper.

The Al Hilal goalkeeper has remained one of Morocco’s most important players since his breakthrough performance at the 2022 World Cup, when he helped the Atlas Lions become the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.

Bounou followed that with another major international campaign in 2026, making 15 key saves across Morocco’s six World Cup matches. He also played a decisive role in Morocco’s Africa Cup of Nations triumph earlier in the year.

This is Bounou’s third Yashin Trophy nomination, the award given to the world’s best goalkeeper. He previously finished third in 2023.

Ayyoub Bouaddi has had quite the year.

The 18-year-old midfielder went from being one of Lille’s youngest-ever first-team players to starring for Morocco at the 2026 World Cup, where he started five of the Atlas Lions’ six matches as they reached the quarter-finals.

Bouaddi had represented France throughout his youth career, including at Under-21 level, before switching his international allegiance to Morocco, the country of his parents, earlier this year. He made his senior debut for Morocco in May and quickly became an important part of the national team.

His World Cup performances helped put him firmly on the global radar and were followed by a blockbuster move from Lille to Manchester City in August for a reported £86 million, making him one of the most expensive teenage transfers in football history.

Bouaddi is nominated for the Kopa Trophy, which honours the best young player in the world aged 21 or under. This is his second consecutive nomination, after finishing ninth in the 2025 voting.

The Algerian rounds out the Arab representation in the Kopa Trophy race, earning his first-ever Ballon d’Or nomination at just 20 years old.

Born in Berlin and developed at Hertha Berlin, the attacking midfielder made the move to Bayer Leverkusen ahead of the 2025/26 season and quickly established himself as one of Algeria’s most exciting young players.

Maza's breakthrough campaign saw him make 61 appearances, score seven goals and provide seven assists across the season, according to the Ballon d’Or's official profile.

His rise has also continued internationally with Algeria. After previously representing Germany at youth level, Maza chose to play for Algeria and has since become part of their senior setup, featuring at the 2026 World Cup.

Bundesliga described his 2025/26 campaign as a breakthrough season as he made the jump from Hertha to one of Germany's biggest clubs.