Online Reporter
AFRICA has only ever had one Ballon d’Or winner, and the wait for someone to emulate George Weah is likely to be extended further after this year’s nominations were revealed yesterday.
Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi and Senegal forward Sadio Mane are the continent’s two names on the 30-strong list.
Both players have previously recorded top-six Ballon d’Or finishes but, after a year in which Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup and Kylian Mbappe netted 10 goals to become the tournament’s all-time top scorer, the chances of the Paris St-Germain right-back or the Al-Nassr winger lifting the coveted trophy appear slim.
And it is not the first time that Africa has failed to make a big impact.
Part of the reason for the historic lack of success is down to the fact that the award, which was first handed out by France Football magazine in 1956, was not open to players representing non-European nations until 1995.
Ballon d’Or nominations by African country:
Côte d’Ivoire — 15 (Didier Drogba 8, Yaya Touré 5, Kolo Touré, Sébastien Haller)
Cameroon — 12 (Samuel Eto’o 9, Geremi, Patrick Mboma, Andre Onana)
Nigeria — 10 (Jay-Jay Okocha 2, Nwankwo Kanu 2, Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, Victor Ikpeba, Sunday Oliseh, Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman)
Senegal — 8 (Sadio Mané 5, Papa Bouba Diop, El Hadji Diouf, Kalidou Koulibaly)
Ghana — 6 (Michael Essien 3, Tony Yeboah, Samuel Kuffour, Asamoah Gyan)
Egypt — 6 (all Mohamed Salah)
Algeria — 4 (all Riyad Mahrez)
Mali — 3 (Mahamadou Diarra 2, Frederic Kanoute)
Gabon — 3 (all Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang)
Morocco — 3 (Achraf Hakimi 2, Yassine Bounou)
Liberia — 2 (both George Weah)
Chad — 1 (Japhet N’Doram)
Tunisia — 1 (Hatem Trabelsi)
Togo — 1 (Emmanuel Adebayor)
Guinea — 1 (Serhou Guirassy) — BBC Sport Africa.
