Lamine Yamal added the Kopa Trophy to his 2026 haul at Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, winning the award for the best player under 21 in world football. Vicky Lopez claimed the women’s equivalent in a ceremony that has featured Barcelona and Spain prominently throughout the evening.
Yamal and the Kopa Trophy: the Award He Was Built For
There are awards that feel inevitable from the moment the shortlist lands. Lamine Yamal winning the 2026 Kopa Trophy was one of them. The Barcelona winger, 19 years old, won La Liga with his club, was named La Liga Player of the Season with 24 goals and 17 assists, and played the full 120 minutes of a World Cup final as Spain beat Argentina to claim the title.
The Kopa Trophy is voted on by a panel of previous Ballon d’Or winners, who assess the best player under 21. When the quality on offer from Yamal is measured against the field, the gap is considerable. No other player in his age bracket combined a La Liga title, a World Cup winner’s medal, a Player of the Season award, and a top-two Ballon d’Or finish in the previous cycle.
The Kopa Trophy win is, in many respects, the least surprising result of the evening. Yamal’s performances over the reference period have been among the most decorated of any young player in the history of the award, and the voting panel reflected that reality.
The Context of Yamal’s Evening
The Kopa Trophy will not be the last award Yamal’s name is mentioned in during this ceremony. He is also one of the contenders for the main Ballon d’Or prize, the men’s golden ball that has not yet been announced. His inclusion in the Kopa vote was possible because he falls within the under-21 eligibility window, but the quality of his season has positioned him as a genuine candidate for the senior award as well.
The two awards, Kopa and Ballon d’Or, have rarely gone to the same player in the same year. If Yamal wins the main prize as well as the Kopa Trophy tonight, it will be one of the most remarkable individual evenings in the ceremony’s history.
Vicky Lopez: Winning Young on the Women’s Side
Vicky Lopez’s win in the women’s Kopa Trophy reflects her emergence as one of the most exciting young players in European women’s football. The award for young players on the women’s side is more tightly contested in the sense that women’s football has been producing a generation of outstanding young talents, and Lopez’s win represents recognition of her specific quality and impact during the reference period.
The women’s side of the ceremony has been heavily influenced by Barcelona’s dominance, with the club’s players featuring prominently in the rankings and award categories. Lopez’s win adds to a remarkable evening for Spanish women’s football in particular.
What the Kopa Trophy Means
The Kopa Trophy, named after French football legend Raymond Kopa, was introduced in 2018 to give recognition to the best young talent that the main Ballon d’Or vote, where experience and sustained excellence over time naturally accumulate votes, might otherwise overlook. In 2026, it has found its most deserving recipient since the award’s introduction.
Yamal has not been overlooked by the main vote. He has been one of its frontrunners all season. But the Kopa Trophy win is the first piece of hardware he has collected on the evening, and it will not be the last thing his name is attached to tonight.
Sources: KhelNow | CBS Sports live updates