Bukayo Saka wins the Socrates Award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London
Arsenal and England forward Bukayo Saka won the Socrates Award for social action and humanitarianism at the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium. He was honoured for supporting children's surgeries through the charity Big Shoe.
Bukayo Saka, who plays for Arsenal in London and for the England national team, won the Socrates Award on 26 October in London. The prize is presented at the Ballon d'Or, football's annual flagship awards ceremony, and recognises humanitarian and social work rather than sporting achievement. According to The Guardian, Saka was honoured for his Big Shoe charity project.
What he was recognised for
Goal.com reports that Saka teamed up with the German charitable foundation BigShoe to fund surgical operations for children in Nigeria, his parents' homeland. His support helped provide 120 operations for young patients with conditions including hernias and brain tumours. At the ceremony Saka read a letter from a boy in Rwanda who had been struggling to read the blackboard; The Guardian says Big Shoe restored the boy's sight and that he now hopes to become an English teacher. The musician Burna Boy presented the trophy.
About the Socrates Award
The award was created in 2022 by the magazine France Football together with Peace and Sport, an organisation that promotes peace through sport. It is named after the Brazilian footballer Socrates, who was also a medical doctor and a central figure in Corinthians' "Democracy" movement during Brazil's military dictatorship. Bolavip says the winner is chosen by a committee involving France Football, the newspaper L'Équipe and Peace and Sport, and that no shortlist was published. This was the fifth edition.
Previous winners are Senegal's Sadio Mane (2022), Brazil's Vinicius Junior (2023), Spain's Jenni Hermoso (2024) and the Xana foundation linked to coach Luis Enrique (2025). The sources differ slightly on the foundation: Goal.com describes it as linked to Enrique and his family, while Bolavip says he created it.
Other results from the night
The Guardian's live coverage lists further winners. Paris Saint-Germain were named men's club of the year for the second year running, and Barcelona women's club of the year for the third time in four years. Barcelona and Spain's Lamine Yamal took the men's young talent award for the third year in a row, and Spain's coach Luis de la Fuente was named men's coach of the year. The goalkeeper awards went to Unai Simon of Athletic Club and Cata Coll of Barcelona.
