The 2026 CAF Awards will take place in Lagos, Nigeria, on Wednesday, December 2, with the continent’s leading footballers, coaches, clubs and national teams expected to converge for one of African football’s biggest annual celebrations.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed the revised date on Tuesday, November 10, bringing the ceremony forward as preparations gather pace for the event, which will recognise outstanding performances and achievements across African football during the year.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT), with the iconic Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, popularly known as the National Theatre, serving as the venue.
Lagos will welcome the awards for the first time in 12 years, marking a significant return to Nigeria after the city last hosted the ceremony in 2014.
Lagos Reclaims Its Place on African Football’s Awards Calendar
The 2026 edition will mark the fourth time Lagos has staged the continental awards, having previously welcomed the event in 2008, 2013 and 2014. Its return reinforces the city’s longstanding association with the celebration of African football excellence.
Lagos is among the cities that have played significant roles in the history of the awards. Other previous hosts include Abuja, which staged the ceremony in 2005, Accra in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2012, Lomé in 2007, and Cairo in 2010.
The ceremony’s previous stop in Lagos was particularly memorable. At the 2014 edition, held on January 8, 2015, former Ivory Coast captain Yaya Touré claimed the Men’s Player of the Year award, extending his remarkable run to four consecutive victories between 2011 and 2014. Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala also collected the Women’s Player of the Year award.
More than a decade after its last appearance in the Nigerian city, the ceremony returns to a venue that combines cultural significance with the capacity to accommodate leading figures from across the continent.
The National Theatre, now known as the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, will provide the setting for the gathering.
Hakimi and Chebbak Headline the Previous Winners
Attention will also turn to the successors of the 2025 award recipients as the race for individual honours gathers momentum.
Morocco enjoyed a memorable night at the previous ceremony in Rabat, with Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi winning the CAF Men’s Player of the Year award. He finished ahead of Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen to claim the prestigious honour for the first time.
Hakimi’s recognition followed an outstanding 2025 campaign in which he helped PSG win the UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the UEFA Super Cup. He also became the first defender to win the men’s award since DR Congo’s Bwanga Tshimen in 1973.
Morocco’s success extended to the women’s category, where Ghizlane Chebbak was named CAF Women’s Player of the Year. The double triumph underlined the country’s growing influence in African football.
The 2026 ceremony will once again place the continent’s leading performers under the spotlight, with the Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards expected to attract considerable attention.
Voting Underway Across 18 Award Categories
A total of 18 categories will be recognised at the 2026 ceremony, covering individual and collective achievements across men’s and women’s football.
Beyond the two headline Player of the Year awards, the honours will recognise outstanding goalkeepers, coaches, young talents, clubs and national teams, alongside other notable contributions to the development of the game.
Voting for this year’s awards began on November 5 and will run until November 20, covering the men’s and women’s categories. CAF Member Associations and clubs are involved in the selection process, with eligible national team coaches and captains encouraged to participate in determining the eventual winners.
The governing body has emphasised the importance of ensuring a credible and representative voting process, with independent monitoring in place to protect the integrity of the results.
With voting scheduled to conclude less than two weeks before the ceremony, attention will gradually shift towards the nominees and the leading contenders in the various categories.
The return to Lagos also provides Nigeria with another opportunity to showcase its cultural heritage and hospitality to the African football community, bringing together influential figures, former players and current stars for an evening that celebrates the continent’s sporting achievements.
For CAF, the December 2 gathering will be another opportunity to recognise the individuals and institutions shaping African football while celebrating the performances that have captured the imagination of supporters throughout the year.
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