Ronwen Williams becomes first African based footballer to make Ballon d’Or nominees list

By Peter Ochieng

South Africa national football team, Bafana Bafana number one goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams has made the list of goalkeeper of the year nominees, for world football’s most prestigious individual trophy, the Ballon d’Or Yashin Trophy.

The Bafana Bafana skipper makes continental history as the first ever footballer playing in Africa, to be nominated for the award.

Williams made the list of 10 best shot-stoppers in the world, which include current holder Emiliano Martez (Argentina), Unai Simon (Spain) as well as Diogo Costa (Portugal) among others.

Former Liberia President 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. 32-year-old Williams 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.

He was pivotal cog in Mamelodi Sundowns’ back-to-back title wins, since joining the club. He put up undoubtedly one of the standout performances at the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023, where he denied Cape Verde four times in a quarter-final penalty shootout.

During the third-place playoff match against DRC, his acrobatic penalty saves came to the fore where he saved two penalties to help his nation to a podium finish.

He was then 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.

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)

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