Ayaka Yamashita has been nominated for Women's Goalkeeper of the Year at the 2026 Ballon d'Or awards.

The Japan international has been included on the five-player shortlist ahead of the prestigious awards ceremony on Monday 26 October in London.

It follows Andrée Jeglertz’s nomination as Women’s Coach of the Year, as well as City’s inclusion on the Club of the Year shortlist for 2026.

WATCH YAMA AT THE ETIHAD AGAINST ARSENAL NEXT MONTH!

Yamashita was a key figure in the Blues’ march to the Barclays Women’s Super League and FA Cup title in 2025/26 - the most successful season in our professional history.

Our stopper featured 20 times across the campaign and kept eight clean sheets in all competitions.

Seven of those came in the WSL, with only Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton earning more across the entire campaign.

She regularly stepped up when it mattered for City, including a stunning one-on-one save to deny Freya Godfrey in a crucial 2-1 win away to London City Lionesses in January 2026.

A similarly impressive performance followed against Chelsea the following week, with Yamashita again pulling off a stunning stop to deny Erin Cuthbert at the Etihad Stadium.

That save - an acrobatic tip over the bar - won the WSL’s Save of the Month award.

Everyone at City would like to congratulate Yama on being included on the Goalkeeper of the Year shortlist.

The full Goalkeeper of the Year shortlist is:

Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC)
Cata Coll (FC Barcelona)
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea)
Lorena (Kansas City Current)
Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City)