Morocco’s Yassine Bounou and Senegal’s Édouard Mendy have been nominated for the 2026 Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, earning recognition among a strong list of goalkeeping stars from across the world.
Bounou and Mendy are the two African representatives on the 10-man shortlist, putting the continent’s goalkeeping talent in the spotlight on the international stage.
Bounou, who has established himself as one of Africa’s leading goalkeepers, will face competition from some of the biggest names in world football.
The shortlist also includes Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois, Spain’s Joan García, Switzerland’s Gregor Kobel, Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez, Spain’s David Raya, Russia’s Matvey Safonov and Spain’s Unai Simón.
Cape Verde’s Vozinha completes the nominations alongside Bounou and Mendy as another African-born goalkeeper on the list.
Full 2026 Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year nominees
Yassine Bounou – Morocco
Thibaut Courtois – Belgium
Joan García – Spain
Gregor Kobel – Switzerland
Emiliano Martínez – Argentina
Édouard Mendy – Senegal
David Raya – Spain
Matvey Safonov – Russia
Unai Simón – Spain
Vozinha – Cape Verde
The nominations underline Africa’s growing influence in the global goalkeeping conversation, with Morocco, Senegal and Cape Verde represented among the world’s leading contenders.
For African football fans, particular attention will be on Bounou and Mendy as they look to challenge for one of the most prestigious individual goalkeeping honours in the game.
