Kopa Trophy 2024: List of nominees for world's best young soccer star as France Football announces candidates

2024-09-04
4 min read
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France Football has announced its 2024 list of nominees for the Kopa Trophy.

The prize, which is awarded as part of the annual Ballon d'Or ceremony, was established in 2018 when Kylian Mbappe prevailed.

Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy in 2023 and is now one of the front runners for the big prize. 

Lamine Yamal is among the favourites this time around after his outstanding performances for Spain at Euro 2024.

If the teenage winger is successful, he would be Barcelona's third winner in the past four years following Pedri and Gavi's respective successes in 2021 and 2022.

MORE: La Liga records broken by Spain sensation Lamine Yamal

What is the Kopa Trophy?

The Kopa Trophy is an annual prize given to the best soccer player in the world under the age of 21, as determined by the Ballon d'Or jury voting system.

The trophy can be won by a player outside the Europe, which makes it different to the Golden Boy prize, which can only be one by a player in UEFA's league system.

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The award is named after Raymond Kopa, the former Real Madrid and France star who won the Ballon d'Or in 1958.

Kopa Trophy nominees 2024

The nominees for the Kopa Trophy 2024 were announced on a L'Equipe live stream at 18:20 CET (12:20 ET/17:20 BST) on Wednesday, September 4 as part of France Football's wider Ballon d'Or announcement.

List of nominees for 2024 Kopa Trophy

Player Club National team
Pau Cubarsi Barcelona Spain
Alejandro Garnacho Man United Argentina
Arda Guler Real Madrid Turkey
Karim Konate RB Leipzig Ivory Coast
Kobbie Mainoo Man United England
Joao Neves PSG* Portugal
Savinho Man City** Brazil
Mathys Tel Bayern Munich France Under-21
Lamine Yamal Barcelona Spain
Warren Zaire-Emery PSG France

*Transferred to PSG from Benfica in August 2024
**Transferred from Girona to Man City in July 2024

MORE: Jude Bellingham stats 2023-24: Goals, assists, trophies of top Ballon d'Or contender

Kopa Trophy past winners

Kylian Mbappe won the inaugural Kopa Trophy in 2018 after winning the World Cup with France. The 2023 prize was claimed by Jude Bellingham.

Year Winner Club
2018 Kylian Mbappe PSG
2019 Matthijs de Ligt Juventus
2020 Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Pedri Barcelona
2022 Gavi Barcelona
2023 Jude Bellingham Real Madrid

When is 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony?

The 2024 Ballon d'Or gala is due to be held on Monday, October 28, 2024 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.

The ceremony is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET).