Former Harrogate school pupil and Aston Villa star Rachel Daly nominated for prestigious Ballon d'Or award

The Aston Villa forward has been nominated for the award for the first time after an outstanding debut campaign for the club in the Women’s Super League.

Daly, who was born in Harrogate and played for Killinghall Nomads as a youngster, led the WSL goal charts with 22 goals in 22 appearances and also notched a further six in Villa’s run to the Women’s FA Cup semi-final.

Along with winning the WSL Golden Boot, Daly was also named WSL Player of the Season to go with two Player of the Month awards for September and November.

Last month, Daly also picked up the Professional Footballers’ Association Players’ Player of the Year award and was named in the PFA Women’s Super League Team of the Year.

The 31-year-old capped off an incredible season when she was part of the England team that reached the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

She played a huge part in the run to the final, featuring in every single game for the Lionesses and scoring once in a 6-1 win over China.

In a post of social media, Rachel said: “Wow – to be nominated for this award amongst some of the best players in the world is such a phenomenal honour.”

Daly has been nominated alongside three of her England Lionesses including Millie Bright (Chelsea), Mary Earps (Manchester United) and Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich).

The winner of the Ballon d’Or, which is awarded to the best female footballer in 2023, will be announced at a prestigious ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday 30 October.

Here is a full list of nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2023:

Aitana Bonmati (Spain and Barcelona)

Millie Bright (England and Chelsea)

Linda Caicedo (Colombia and Real Madrid)

Olga Carmona (Spain and Real Madrid)

Rachel Daly (England and Aston Villa)

Debinha (Brazil and North Carolina Courage/Kansas City)

Kadidiatou Diani (France and Lyon)

Mary Earps (England and Manchester United)

Patricia Guijarro (Spain and Barcelona)

Yui Hasegawa (Japan and Manchester City)

Amanda Ilestedt (Sweden and Paris St-Germain/Arsenal)

Sam Kerr (Australia and Chelsea)

Mapi Leon (Spain and Barcelona)

Katie McCabe (Republic of Ireland and Arsenal)

Hinata Miyazawa (Japan and MyNavi Sendai/Manchester United)

Lena Oberdorf (Germany and Wolfsburg)

Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria and Barcelona)

Ewa Pajor (Poland and Wolfsburg)

Salma Paralluelo (Spain and Barcelona)

Alexandra Popp (Germany and Wolsburg)

Hayley Raso (Australia and Man City/Real Madrid)

Alba Redondo (Spain and Levante)

Guro Reiten (Norway and Chelsea)

Wendie Renard (France and Lyon)

Fridolina Rolfo (Sweden and Barcelona)

Jill Roord (Netherlands and Wolfsburg/Manchester City)

Khadija Shaw (Jamaica and Manchester City)

Sophia Smith (United States and Portland Thorns)

Georgia Stanway (England and Bayern Munich)

Daphne van Domselaar (Netherlands and Twente/Aston Villa)