ON THE BRINK

KHADIJA “Bunny” Shaw has long been one of Jamaica’s brightest stars. However, her historic achievement at the women’s Ballon d’Or has strengthened the belief that she deserves greater global recognition, with the dream of becoming the world’s best player closer than ever before. Reggae Girlz superstar Shaw finished third in the Ballon d’Or Féminin rankings on Monday at the awards ceremony in London. She finished behind winner Alexia Putellas of Spain, who claimed her third hold on the award, while compatriot and former Barcelona teammate Ewa Pajor finished second. Shaw, the only Jamaican and fourth non-European player to finish in the top three in the award’s history, had an incredible 2025/2026 season with Women’s Super League (WSL) and FA Cup champions Manchester City, where she finished with 35 goal contributions including 21 goals in 22 games to win her third-straight WSL golden boot. The reigning WSL Player of the Season, Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Player of the Year and Football Writers Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year joined male superstars Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne as the only Man City players to finish in the top three.

Tom Garry.

Women’s football writer with The Guardian in the UK, Tom Garry, told the Jamaica Observer that Shaw’s third-place finish shouldn’t be underestimated. “The mere fact that she made the top three despite not playing Champions League football last season, said a lot about how revered she is and how immensely well-regarded she is across the world,” Garry said. “Almost every colleague I interact with in the media considers Shaw to be the best out-and-out central number nine in the world.”

Ayisha Gulati.

Since joining City in 2021, Shaw has established herself among England’s elite, scoring 127 goals in 146 appearances in all competitions. However, some in the sport believe she hasn’t received the level of recognition she deserves in the UK and wider Europe for her performances, particularly when compared with other top players. Sports reporter and presenter with UK football outlets Hayters TV and FourFourTwo, Ayisha Gulati, who covered Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, believes the lack of recognition is no fault of Shaw’s and expects that to change in the near future. “I think there have been times when Bunny Shaw has been overlooked, although some of that comes down to the wider landscape of women’s football,” Gulati told the Observer. “Barcelona have been the dominant force in the women’s game in recent years, with global superstars like Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí attracting a lot of attention and dominating conversations about who the best players in the world are.” “By comparison, Manchester City haven’t been competing in the Champions League in the same way, while Jamaica are not a leading nation in international football. Those factors can influence how much global exposure a player receives, regardless of their individual quality. But Shaw’s performances and the individual awards she has collected make it increasingly difficult to overlook her.” Garry also believes Shaw warrants far greater appreciation on the international stage. “I do think she is sometimes overlooked, and that is probably because so much emphasis is placed on performances at senior international level and especially at major international tournaments such as a World Cup and — through no fault of Bunny’s — that means the players who are part of more successful international teams are naturally getting more credit. That’s a shame, because Bunny and — for example, Ewa Pajor of Poland or Melchie Dumornay of Haiti — deserve more awards than they get.”

Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw holds up the FA Cup during the presentation ceremony following the English Women’s FA Cup final football match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium in north-west London on May 31, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

Shaw described being named the third-best player in the world as a “huge honour”. She finished 24th in the 2023 rankings before climbing to 15th in 2024. Gulati and Garry believe her performances in Man City’s European campaign, along with her exploits at FIFA World Cup could be key to her bid to lift the prestigious golden ball. “The Ballon d’Or is an individual award, but team success and performances in high-profile matches has a big influence on how players are perceived,” Gulati said “Manchester City must compete deep into the Champions League and delivering in those decisive knockout games would give Shaw an even bigger platform to showcase her ability. Internationally, Jamaica qualifying for and performing well at the next World Cup would also help, however, that is not entirely within her control and she can only do so much.” Garry said, “Realistically, in 2027 she would either need to be part of a Champions League-winning side with Manchester City or a Jamaica side that goes into the latter stages of the Women’s World Cup, or perhaps if she was able to win the Golden Boot for the most goals at the World Cup, regardless of how far Jamaica progressed overall. The former will be very difficult because Barcelona are the heavy favourites for the Champions League.” Next month, Shaw could cap off an already remarkable year by helping the Reggae Girlz secure a third-straight World Cup appearance when they battle Costa Rica in the quarter-finals of the Concacaf W Championship in Texas. It will be the 50th senior cap for Shaw, who has 67 international goals to her name, including seven so far in 2026.