West Ham women defender nominated for Algerian Player of the Year award | OneFootball

West Ham defender Inès Belloumou has been nominated for Algeria’s Player of the Year award after an impressive Africa Cup of Nations campaign.

Belloumou is one of nine players up for the award which will be voted on this week.

Inès Belloumou nominated for Algeria award

While she was a sensation for Algeria in the summer, Inès Belloumou hasn’t always represented the African nation.

Belloumou played for France at various youth levels but switched over to Algeria at the beginning of 2025.

At the African Cup of Nations Belloumou really made her presence felt. Algeria didn’t concede at the tournament during a successful group stage, with the national team breezing into the knockouts.

Algeria’s defensive capabilities were on show again in the quarters as they kept yet another clean sheet against Ghana.

It was the team’s attack that let them down in the competition however, as they scored just one goal in their four games this summer.

After a 0-0 draw against Ghana in the quarter-finals Algeria were knocked out of AFCON remarkably without conceding a goal.

As a core part of Algeria’s rock-solid defence, Belloumou has been nominated for Algeria’s Player of the Year after her first ten months representing the nation.

What next for Inès Belloumou?

Since AFCON, the Algerian defender has returned home to West Ham for her second season in the WSL.

The former Bayern defender has made a great impression in her first two years at the club, but the Hammers are struggling in the league.

Unlike Algeria, West Ham’s defence has proved to be one of the most leaky in the WSL.

Belloumou’s team has already conceded 18 goals this season in just seven games and they have by far and away the worst defence in England.

The 24-year-old picked up her first red card in England in September, after a ‘moment of madness’ against Chelsea.

West Ham remain on 0 points to star the campaign and they are staring down the barrel at one of the worst seasons in WSL history.

The Hammers face Leicester City on Sunday in a game that they could finally earn their first points in.