Khadija “Bunny” Shaw stands on the verge of history today, with the Reggae Girlz captain in contention to become the first Jamaican to claim football’s most prestigious individual prize, the Ballon d’Or.

Shaw is among 30 players shortlisted for the 2026 Women’s Ballon d’Or which will be announced this afternoon at the award ceremony in London.

The 29-year-old received her third-ever nomination after an incredible season with Manchester City in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL). She won her third-straight WSL golden boot after scoring 21 goals in 22 appearances as City won the title for the first time in a decade. She also led them to their first FA Cup title win since 2020.

Shaw’s Ballon D’Or nomination is another accolade after winning the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Women’s Player of the Year and the WSL Player of the Season earlier this year.

National senior women’s head coach Hubert Busby believes Shaw is further cementing her legacy and raising Jamaica’s profile on the global stage.

“When you really take a minute to pause and you think about the amount of tremendous players, male and female, on the globe, and just to be recognised, that is amazing,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “When you think about football being the most popular sport in the world and obviously she’s playing at one of the most high-profile clubs in the world, but it’s her consistency, the fact that she continues to do what she does at the highest level, it’s an amazing opportunity for us as Jamaicans to just revel in that one of us is being recognised globally for those achievements.”

“I think more so than that, it just goes to show that put in the right environment, given the right resources, and obviously God-given talent and she’s been able to go out there and with all the talent she’s had, she’s worked really hard to make it to this level. I just think of just spell volumes what she means to Jamaica football and what she means to Jamaicans on the island and in the diaspora,” he added.

Although Shaw is among the favourites, she will have to contend with Spain and London City Lionesses superstar Alexia Putellas who won all four titles on offer at Barcelona last season including the Champions League. Barcelona trio Ewa Pajor, Patri Guijarro and Caroline Graham Hansen as well as Lyon’s Melchie Dumornay are among the leading contenders for the award.

Khadija Shaw

In an anonymous survey conducted by sports media outlet The Athletic, in which reporters polled several stakeholders in football, Shaw finished second with 276 points after featuring in the top three on most of the ballots.

However, Shaw’s fate will be decided by an international jury of specialised journalists. One journalist from each of the top 50 nations in the FIFA rankings will vote for the women’s award, meaning Jamaica will be represented, with the Reggae Girlz currently ranked 40th in the world.

Busby is keeping his “fingers crossed” as he hopes to see Shaw crowned the world’s best.

“It’s an amazing achievement to be recognised by your peers and by sports journalists around the globe as being one of the best footballers each and every year for the last couple of years,” he said. “Hailing from obviously Spanish Town, Jamaica, she gives and provides opportunities for girls on the island to dream so I think it’s just an amazing achievement she does and we’re looking forward and hoping that she takes home the prize.”

Shaw, who has an incredible 67 goals in 49 caps for Jamaica, finished 24th in the 2023 ranking and 15th in 2024. She’s the only Jamaican, male or female, to have been recognised for the award.