Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka received the Socrates Award at the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday night, recognising his humanitarian work through the year.
Arsenal weren’t big winners at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday night, but Bukayo Saka was the one Gunner to receive an award.
Saka was handed the Socrates Award for his humanitarian work in 2026, with plenty of reported examples of the winger’s efforts to help people.
The Ballon d’Or website notes Saka’s donation of over a thousand school uniforms to four schools in Ealing, and his donation of 100 pairs of football boots to participants at the Street Soccer Academy – an organisation aiming to tackle youth homelessness.
Arsenal highlight Saka’s work with Big Shoe, providing medical care and humanitarian aid for children and families in London and around the world, including emergency housing for families displaced by the earthquakes in Turkey and Morocco.
Saka’s work has also helped more than 100 children in Africa with surgeries they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to have.
Big Shoe report on their website that Saka has helped provide health check-ups for more than 580 children in Rwanda, and health insurance for more than 1,000 people, as well as providing clean drinking water, a Girls’ Room, a renovated football pitch, stand, and library at GSU Mbati school.
Speaking after receiving the award, Saka said: “I would like to thank France Football for the opportunity to be here tonight to keep raising awareness of these causes that are close to my heart.
“I’d love to share with you a story from the Big Shoe charity, that’s helped change a kid’s life, in his own words…
“‘To everyone here tonight, my name is Biringiro, I’m 14 years old and I live in a village in Rwanda. I want to share my story with you.
“When I was 12, I started losing my sight. My village has no electricity, and as my eyesight got worse, even moving around my home became difficult. At school, I couldn’t read what my teachers wrote on the blackboard and I struggled to play with my friends. I just wanted to play freely and feel like every other child.
“Then, thanks to Big Shoe, I received the eye care that I needed. Today, I can read the blackboard, even from the back of the classroom. But more importantly, I no longer need to worry about feeling different. I can enjoy being a child again. For the first time in a long time, I’m excited about my future. I want to become an English teacher one day.
“I know many of you here tonight have achieved your childhood dreams, and now I believe I can achieve mine too. May God bless you all abundantly, with love and gratitude, Biringiro.'”
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