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Bukayo Saka

Winger, Arsenal & England

Sports England Hall No. 26

Profile

Why they shine

Bukayo Saka has spent six seasons at Arsenal and one evening at the London Palladium defining himself by something other than his left foot. The Sócrates Award, presented at the 70th Ballon d'Or, honours solidarity work rather than football, and his case rested on BigShoe, a charity that funds surgery for children who could not otherwise get it. His backing paid for about 120 operations for children in Kano State, Nigeria, in 2022, and another 100 across Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania in 2023. On the pitch he added a World Cup bronze with England and a Premier League title with Arsenal.

Full name: Bukayo Saka
Nationality: England
Club (2026): Arsenal
Position: Winger
2026 Ballon d'Or: Socrates Award — humanitarian action
BigShoe projects: About 120 surgeries in Kano State, 100 more across East Africa

Record

Honor record

Socrates Award

2026 · Oct 26, 2026

London Palladium, London

Presented by Burna Boy, the award created by France Football with Peace and Sport in 2022 recognises players who use their profile for social causes. Saka's programme with BigShoe funded roughly 120 operations for children in Kano State in 2022 and a further 100 in Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania in 2023. In his acceptance speech he read the letter of Byiringiro, a 14-year-old from Rwanda whose sight BigShoe restored.

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