South Africa captain Ronwen Williams has made history by becoming the first-ever player playing for an African team to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or Award.
Williams was nominated for the Yashin Trophy, awarded to the best goalkeeper of the year, on Wednesday and he is up against top goalkeepers such Diogo Costa of FC Porto and Portugal, Gianluigi Donnarumma of Paris Saint-Germain and Italy and Frenchman Mike Maignan, who plays for AC Milan.
Other nominees are Emilian Martinez of Argentina and Aston Villa, Giorgi Mamardashvili from Georgia, who recently left Valencia for Liverpool, Ukrainian Andriy Lunin of Real Madrid, Unai Simon of Spain and Athletic Bilbao and Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel of Borussia Dortmund.
The Mamelodi Sundowns shot stopper became the first-ever South African player nominated for the prestigious award, but crucially, the first player playing for a team in Africa, and it comes after his starring role for Bafana Bafana at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Williams was voted the best goalkeeper at AFCON 2023 for his heroics, which included saving a record four penalties in their quarter-final game against Cape Verde, and two against DR Congo in the third-place playoff as South Africa went on to finish third, their best ever performance at the tournament since winning it at home in 1996.
Williams, who kept 35 clean sheets in 59 games across all competitions in 2023-24, is the fourth African goalkeeper to be nominated for the Yashin Trophy after Andre Onana (Cameroon), Edouard Mendy (Senegal) and Yassine Bounou (Morocco).
The Yashin Trophy is named after former Soviet Union goalkeeper Lev Yashin, with the winner selected by ex-Ballon d’Or winners since its creation in 2019.
Williams could join an exclusive club if he wins the trophy, at the Ballon d’Or ceremony scheduled for October 28 in Paris, with Alisson (2019), Donnarumma (2021), Thibaut Courtois (2022) and Martinez (2023), claiming the last four awards.
