Matildas star Steph Catley is in the running to win football‘s biggest award after being nominated for the Ballon d’Or for the first time.
Catley is the only Aussie among 30 players shortlisted for the women’s top gong. No Aussies made the men’s list.
The 31-year-old was a key member of Arsenal’s triumphant Women’s Super League team last season and six of her club teammates have also been nominated.
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She is the third Australian to be nominated for the women’s Ballon d’Or since it was introduced just seven years ago.
Sam Kerr has been nominated five times but fallen short, while fellow Matildas gun Hayley Raso was nominated in 2023 following Australia’s World Cup run.
Australian players Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, and Kyra Cooney-Cross celebrate Arsenal’s title. Getty
The 30 men’s and 30 women’s nominees were revealed by France Football magazine, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony in Paris on September 23.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé and England forward Chloe Kelly are among the other contenders to win the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or.
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The 28-year-old Dembélé was inspirational in leading PSG to its first Champions League title after years of falling short and helped the French club complete a treble.
He scored a career-high 35 goals overall for PSG last season.
Australia’s Steph Catley celebrates scoring. CameraSport via Getty Images
Teenage star Lamine Yamal, whose mesmerising performances lit up the Champions League and helped Barcelona win the Spanish league title, is among the other men’s nominees.
Kelly and Catley face competition from defender Lucy Bronze and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton — Kelly’s England teammates who both play for Chelsea — and from Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, the winner of the past two awards.
Barcelona players have won the past four women’s awards.
– with AP
