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.
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).