South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams missed out on the Ballon d’Or’s Yachine Trophy, awarded to the world’s best goalkeeper. The ceremony took place in France on Monday.

Williams was one of the top 10 goalkeepers nominated for the award, but he did not make the final five, despite traveling to France to attend the ceremony, finishing ninth overall.

The Yachine Trophy was ultimately won by Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, who successfully defended his title. The Argentine goalkeeper is the first to win the award twice.

Martinez defeated a strong field of goalkeepers, including Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG), Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid), and Mike Maignan (AC Milan).

Williams was the first African player based on the continent to be nominated for the Yachine Trophy. Before the ceremony, he expressed his excitement and the potential impact of his nomination: “It’s going to motivate and inspire people to dream big.”

The Yachine Trophy is awarded based on a player’s individual performances, decisive moments, collective achievements, trophies won, and fair play. While Williams has achieved significant success with Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns, the level of competition among the nominated goalkeepers was exceptionally high.