BURNA BOY BECOMES FIRST NIGERIAN ARTISTE TO PRESENT AWARD AT BALLON D’OR
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By ‘Sefiu Ajape
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, has become the first Nigerian artiste to present an award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
The Last Last singer presented the 2026 Sócrates Award to Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26, during the 70th edition of the ceremony, which was held in London for the first time.
Organisers moved the event to London to mark 70 years since England’s Stanley Matthews won the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956.
Before presenting the award, Burna Boy spoke about his football academy in Nigeria and its mission to support the development of the game in the country.
“Something I started a few years ago, just to support the football culture back home. Hopefully, inshallah, one day I’ll come back here to see one of my people getting an award in Ballon d’Or,” he said.
The Sócrates Award recognises footballers who use their influence to support humanitarian causes.
Saka, who represents England and has Nigerian heritage, received the honour in recognition of his charitable work with BigShoe, an organisation that supports medical treatment for children, including surgeries in Nigeria.
Burna Boy’s appearance at the ceremony came a day after his halftime performance at the NFL Paris game on October 25.
The Pittsburgh Steelers faced the New Orleans Saints at Stade de France in the NFL’s first regular-season game in France.
In July, the singer performed alongside Shakira at the first FIFA World Cup final halftime show, where they performed “Dai Dai”, the tournament’s official song.
Burna Boy has also featured at other major sporting events, including the 2023 NBA All-Star Game and the UEFA Champions League final kickoff show.
He won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album in 2021 for Twice As Tall and has since earned seven consecutive Grammy nominations.
The singer rose to prominence in 2012 with “Like to Party”, the lead single from his debut album, L.I.F.E, released in 2013.
His subsequent albums include African Giant, Twice As Tall, Love, Damini, I Told Them and No Sign of Weakness.
Another Nigerian singer, Adekunle Gold, also attended the Ballon d’Or ceremony. The artiste, whose real name is Adekunle Kosoko, was photographed arriving on the red carpet.
He shared his reaction on Instagram, writing, “I prayed for this all my life”. He also announced that he would perform at the event’s after-party in London.
Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane won the men’s Ballon d’Or, finishing ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal. Kane became the first English player to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001.
See video of the moment Burna Boy presented the award below:
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