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. 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 the award, which was first handed out by France Football magazine in 1956, was not open to players representing non-European nations until 1995. That was the year that Liberian striker Weah scooped the prize after his impressive form for PSG and AC Milan.
Favourite Kane makes Ballon d'Or shortlist Yet, for all the stars the continent has produced, the only other time an African player registered a top-three finish came in 2022, when Mane was second behind France striker Karim Benzema. Of course, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated proceedings for most of this century, scooping 13 of the 15 available Ballons d'Or between 2008 and 2023. Journalists from the top 100 nations in the Fifa rankings will vote for the prize, with the recipient of the 2026 trophy announced at a ceremony in London on 26 October.
The "symbolic choice of venue" for the 70th anniversary of the award is in tribute to the inaugural winner, England winger Sir Stanley Matthews. But how do the historic Ballon d'Or numbers stack up for Africa? The high point of Africa's Ballon d'Or history clearly came in the very first year the continent's stars became eligible, with Weah topping the vote in 1995 ahead of Germany's Jurgen Klinsmann and Finland's Jari Litmanen.
Five more Africans made that year's 50-player list. But only once since, in 2007, has the continent had as many as six nominations. On that occasion Didier Drogba was the highest-ranked finisher, with the Ivorian coming fourth.
The pool has narrowed since then, with 30 players in contention since 2008 and just 23 in the running when the Ballon d'Or was combined with the Fifa's world player of the year award between 2010 and 2015. One other stand-out year for Africa came in 2019, when three men finished in the top 10. Mane came fourth, Egypt's Mohamed Salah was fifth, and Riyad Mahrez of Algeria tenth.
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