The Church only requires one godparent. The Church allows two godparents if they are of the opposite sex. (I would add that one person has to be a practicing Catholic)

The role of a godparent is summed up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “the godparents must be firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized on the road to Christian life.” Godparents help the parents in the faith life of the child being baptized. Godparents are positive examples of living the Catholic faith and therefore should be active members of a parish, have received confirmation, and if married have been married in the Church.

Godparents have to meet those requirements because their role is to be an example of living the Catholic faith. If they are not confirmed, what does that say to the child about the importance of confirmation? If they are not married in the church, what message does that pass to the child about the importance of the sacrament of marriage?

He may indeed be a really good person but being a good person is only one part of being a godparent. Someone who has not received any of the sacraments cannot be an example of living the faith in a meaningful way.

It is indeed unfortunate but we need to remember that the role of godparent is for the spiritual benefit of the child not the godparent’s self-esteem. Not choosing a particular individual does not make him a bad person, it simply means he is not spiritually in a place where he can act as a kind of mentor in the Catholic faith.

No one can be a godparent who is not at least baptized. It would be an absolute contradiction to have an unbaptized person officially be a role model for the baptized. However, if the person is scheduled to receive his confirmation at a later date or have his marriage validated by the Church then exceptions can be made in anticipation of those events taking place. Sometimes there are also cultural traditions that can be incorporated so that individuals can be included in some manner. Ultimately if there are serious issues in choosing godparents that meet all of the requirements it is important to discuss the matter with the parish priest who will be performing the baptism. He might be able to find a compromise that meets the spirit of the law while accommodating the realities of an imperfect world.