CAF brings 2026 Awards ceremony forward to December 2 in Lagos

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rescheduled the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony to Wednesday, December 2, in Lagos, Nigeria, bringing forward the continent’s prestigious football celebration by five days.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, November 10, with the ceremony scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Nigerian time (6:00 p.m. GMT and 8:00 p.m. Cairo time).

The event will take place at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, formerly known as the National Theatre, where Africa’s leading footballers, coaches, administrators and other sporting personalities will converge to celebrate outstanding achievements in the game.

Lagos Returns to the CAF Awards Calendar

The 2026 edition marks the return of the CAF Awards to Lagos for the first time since 2014, giving Nigeria’s commercial capital another opportunity to showcase its cultural heritage and capacity to host major continental sporting events.

The city has previously hosted the ceremony in 2008, 2013 and 2014, making the upcoming edition another significant milestone in its history with African football.

The decision to bring the awards back to Nigeria was earlier confirmed by CAF following its Executive Committee meeting in October. The initial date announced was December 7 before the governing body confirmed the new December 2 schedule.

18 Categories to Be Recognised

According to CAF, the 2026 ceremony will feature 18 award categories, with the Men’s Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year awards expected to attract significant attention.

Other categories will recognise outstanding contributions from coaches, goalkeepers, emerging talents, clubs and national teams across both men’s and women’s football.

The awards remain an important platform for recognising individual brilliance and collective achievements throughout African football.

Voting Process Underway

Meanwhile, voting for the 2026 awards is already underway and will run from November 5 to November 20 across the men’s and women’s categories.

CAF disclosed that the process involves its Member Associations and clubs, with eligible coaches and captains participating directly in selecting the outstanding performers.

The governing body also emphasised that the voting procedure is designed to promote fairness, transparency and broad representation, with independent monitoring put in place to protect the integrity of the results.

Nigeria’s Opportunity to Shine

Nigeria’s return as host comes after a successful period for its representatives at the awards.

Ademola Lookman won the Men’s Player of the Year award in 2024, following Victor Osimhen‘s triumph in 2023. Nigeria’s Super Falcons have also enjoyed considerable success, winning the Women’s National Team of the Year award in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

At the 2025 edition in Rabat, Morocco, Achraf Hakimi and Ghizlane Chebbak claimed the men’s and women’s top individual honours respectively.

With the December 2 date now confirmed, attention will turn to the final voting process and preparations for what promises to be a memorable celebration of African football in Lagos.

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