Washington Spirit Forward Sofia Cantore Nominated for 2025 Ballon d'Or Féminin
NWSL Washington Spirit

Washington Spirit Forward Sofia Cantore Nominated for 2025 Ballon d'Or Féminin

Published on August 7, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Washington Spirit News Release


Washington, D.C. - The Washington Spirit's newest forward Sofia Cantore has been named a nominee for the 2025 Ballon d'Or, an annual award recognizing the best women's soccer player in the world, France Football announced today.

At 25 years old, Cantore makes her first appearance on the Ballon d'Or shortlist and is nominated alongside 29 other players across the globe for the honor. The forward is the Spirit's third different nominee for the award after Trinity Rodman was nominated in 2024 and 2022 and Rose Lavelle in 2019.

Cantore signed with the Spirit in June, transferring from Juventus FC of Italy's Serie A and becoming the first Italian player in NWSL history. Across the past eight seasons, Cantore appeared in over 120 league matches, tallying over 40 goals and 20 assists in the process. The standout forward also led Juventus in scoring at the 2024-25 UEFA Women's Champions League with two goals in group play.

At the international level, Cantore is a mainstay of the Italy roster. Approaching her 50th appearance for the senior team, Cantore has tallied five goals for Le Azzurre and recently started every match of the 2025 UEFA Women's Championship for the side. In Italy's quarterfinal win, Cantore dished out two assists to help her home country advance to the tournament's semifinal round for the first time in 28 years.

The 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony will be held on Monday, September 22 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

This weekend, the Spirit will hit the road to take on Gotham FC in the NWSL's inaugural Rivalry Weekend, kicking off at noon EDT on Saturday, August 9 on ESPN. Washington will return to Audi Field on Friday, August 15 at 8 p.m. EDT to take on Racing Louisville FC. Tickets are available.

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