Ballon d'Or: What is the Kopa Trophy?

Real Madrid's English midfielder Jude Bellingham speaks on stage as he recieves with the Kopa Trophy for best under-21 player during the 2023 Ballon d'Or France Football award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 30, 2023.

It's coming up – so what exactly is the Kopa Trophy? The nominations for this year's Ballon d'Or were confirmed last week as the planet's best players get set for an awards bash that will see football's biggest individual prize handed out.

Sir Stanley Matthews was the very first of a long list of illustrious winners in 1956, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated the event in recent years – although a new winner is guaranteed this year, as neither of the two 2000s icons have been nominated for the first time since 2003.

As the favourites start to emerge, it's not just the Ballon d'Or that will be dished out at during the glittering awards do at the end of October. Here's a look at one of the other awards that will be handed out.

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What is the Kopa Trophy?

The Kopa Trophy is named after French legend, Raymond Kopa (Image credit: PA)

The Kopa Trophy is an award that is handed out to the best player under the age of 21 and was first awarded in 2018, when Kylian Mbappe won the prize.

The jury tasked with deciding the winner consists of former Ballon d'Or winners and is open to players from across the world, differentiating it from the Golden Boy award, which is for European-based players only.

The gong is named after former France footballer Raymond Kopa, who won the 1958 Ballon 'Or and the other previous winners include Barcelona duo Gavi and Pedi, Matthijs de Light and Jude Bellingham, who won it last year, when he pipped Jamal Musiala and Pedri to the award.

The Kopa Trophy is one of several awards, including the Yashin Trophy, the Gerd Muller Trophy and the Socrates Award. The Ballon d'Or Feminin is always awarded on the same night, too.