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Cantore finishes 24th in voting for prestigious Ballon d’Or Féminin
Washington, D.C. (09/22/2025) – Washington Spirit star forward Sofia Cantore has been named one of the top 25 players in global women’s soccer, France Football announced today. Cantore finished 24th in voting for the Ballon d’Or Féminin, an award recognizing the best women’s soccer player in the world each year.
Since her arrival in DC this summer, Cantore has been an immediate attacking threat for the Spirit, netting a goal in each of her first two matches at Audi Field. 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. Cantore is the Spirit’s third Ballon d’Or Féminin finalist in the past four seasons after Trinity Rodman’s top-20 and top-ten finishes in 2022 and 2024, respectively.
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.
This weekend, the Spirit will return home to host the Houston Dash at Audi Field on Sunday, September 28 with a chance to clinch a playoff berth. Kicking off at 1 p.m. EDT, the match will be Washington’s annual Hispanic Heritage celebration. Tickets are available here.
About The Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012 and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) the fastest growing sports league in the US. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. For more information about the Spirit, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
About The Ballon d’Or Féminin
The Ballon d’Or Féminin, which translates to ‘Women’s Golden Ball,’ is the premier football award presented to the top women’s player each year by French news magazine France Football. Since the award’s inception in 2018, the Ballon d’Or Féminin has been presented seven times: to OL Lyonnes’ Ada Hegerberg in 2018, Seattle Reign FC’s Megan Rapinoe in 2019, FC Barcelona Femení’s Alexis Putellas in 2021 and 2022 and Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmatí in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
