Bukayo Saka added a new honour to his growing list of achievements on Monday night, winning the 2026 Sócrates Award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London. The Arsenal and England forward received the humanitarian award from Nigerian music superstar Burna Boy, bringing two globally recognised figures of Nigerian heritage together on one of football’s biggest nights. The award recognised Saka’s work supporting vulnerable children and families, including efforts to improve access to healthcare and education.
The 24-year-old has used his profile beyond football to support children whose circumstances limit their opportunities. Through his partnership with the charity BigShoe, Saka has helped fund medical treatment for children in Africa, including eye operations that have changed how some young beneficiaries experience everyday life.
One of those children is Biringiro, a 14-year-old boy from Rwanda whose deteriorating eyesight had made it difficult for him to see the blackboard at school. Speaking at the ceremony, Saka shared how treatment supported through BigShoe restored the boy’s sight. Biringiro can now read the blackboard again, play with his friends and continue working towards his ambition of becoming an English teacher. His experience gave the award a personal dimension, bringing the consequences of Saka’s charitable work into focus through one child’s life.
Saka’s work with BigShoe has reached children in several African countries. In 2022, he helped fund operations for 120 children in Kano, Nigeria. The following year, he supported treatment for another 100 children across Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. The work has connected the footballer’s Nigerian heritage with practical support for children who might otherwise struggle to access essential medical care.
His community work also extends to education and grassroots support in the United Kingdom. In 2025, Saka donated more than 1,000 school uniforms to four schools in Ealing, west London. He also provided over 100 pairs of football boots to Street Soccer Academy, an organisation supporting young people experiencing homelessness. The initiatives address different needs, but share a focus on giving young people resources that can help them participate more fully in school, sport and everyday life.
The Sócrates Award was introduced by France Football in 2022 to recognise footballers involved in humanitarian and social-impact initiatives. It is named after Brazilian football legend Sócrates, who was also a physician and a prominent advocate for democracy and social change. The award places attention on the work players undertake away from the pitch, where their influence can help bring resources and visibility to people facing difficult circumstances.
Burna Boy’s presentation of the award added a distinct Nigerian connection to the ceremony. Saka, whose family roots are Nigerian, has built his career in English football, while Burna Boy has taken Nigerian music to audiences around the world. Their presence on the same stage offered a reminder of the different ways public figures can use international platforms. For Saka, the recognition centred on what he has helped make possible for children whose needs often receive little attention beyond their immediate communities.
Biringiro’s ambition to become a teacher remains his own, but being able to see the blackboard again gives him a better chance to pursue it. That is the human scale of the work recognised in Paris: not a promise that one intervention can resolve every barrier facing a child, but a practical change that can open up possibilities. Saka left the ceremony with the Sócrates Award; the story he shared ensured that Biringiro, too, was part of the night.
