Voting is open for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2026, with fans worldwide able to choose from a five-player shortlist: Temwa Chawinga, Ewa Pajor, Alexia Putellas, Alessia Russo and Khadija "Bunny" Shaw. The vote closes on Wednesday, 18 November at 09:00 GMT.
For the first time in the award's history, the winner will be announced as part of the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, as well as on the BBC World Service and the BBC Sport website and app. Now in its 12th year, the award covers the period from September 2025 to September 2026, with contenders nominated by coaches, journalists and former professionals.
Temwa Chawinga
The Kansas City forward helped her club clinch the NWSL Shield as the league's top regular-season team, scoring 15 goals in the 2025 season to become the first player named NWSL MVP in back-to-back campaigns. She also won the Golden Boot for a second straight year, form that earned her a contract extension through 2029. Returning to international duty with Malawi, Chawinga and her sister Tabitha helped the country reach its first Women's Africa Cup of Nations final and qualify for the Women's World Cup for the first time. She scored against Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana and Algeria at the tournament, finishing as Wafcon's top scorer with five goals.
Ewa Pajor
Pajor scored Barcelona's first two goals in a 4-0 Champions League final win, finishing as the competition's top scorer and winning the trophy for the first time after five previous final defeats. She also had an outstanding season in Liga F, scoring 16 goals in 23 appearances with five assists as Barcelona completed the domestic treble. Pajor captains Poland and is the national team's leading goalscorer.
Alexia Putellas
After 14 years at Barcelona, Putellas helped the club win four major trophies in her final season, contributing 14 goals and assists across 11 Champions League appearances as Barcelona won the competition for a fourth time. She delayed announcing her move away to avoid distracting from that campaign before completing a transfer to London City Lionesses in July 2026, citing the club's "women-only identity and ambition" as important factors. Internationally, she was instrumental as Spain retained the Women's Nations League in late 2025, scoring three goals against Sweden in the semi-finals before being named player of the finals in a 3-0 win over Germany. Last month she was awarded a record-equalling third Ballon d'Or.
Alessia Russo
Russo scored 13 WSL goals last season to finish second in the league's scoring charts, adding six assists in 22 appearances for a total of 24 goals and eight assists across all competitions. She helped Arsenal win the inaugural Women's Champions Cup, beating Corinthians 3-2 after extra time for the first competitive trophy Arsenal's women's team had lifted at the Emirates, though they finished runners-up to Manchester City in the WSL. Russo remains England's first-choice striker and moved into the top 10 of Lionesses goalscorers after netting her 30th senior international goal in April. She was also nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award.
Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw
Shaw scored 21 goals in 22 league appearances as Manchester City ended a ten-year wait for the WSL title, winning a record third consecutive Golden Boot and being named WSL Player of the Season. City went on to complete the domestic Double, with Shaw scoring the opening goal in their FA Cup final victory over Brighton at Wembley to finish the season with 26 goals in all competitions. In December 2025 she became the first player in the history of City's professional women's team to score 100 goals. Amid uncertainty over her future, Shaw announced at City's end-of-season celebrations that she had signed a new four-year contract through to 2030.
