CAF sets 7 December 2026 for awards ceremony in Lagos
The Confederation of African Football has confirmed that its 2026 awards ceremony will be held in Lagos on 7 December, returning the event to Nigeria more than a decade after its last Lagos edition. CAF’s executive committee also approved changes to interclub registration rules and confirmed dates for other continental competitions.
Lagos will host the 2026 Confederation of African Football Awards on 7 December, CAF has confirmed, bringing the ceremony back to Nigeria more than 11 years after the city last staged the event. Premium Times reported that the date and venue decision followed a virtual meeting of CAF’s Executive Committee chaired by President Patrice Motsepe on 2 October. Punch Nigeria said the ceremony would take place at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly the National Theatre, in Iganmu.
The reports agree on Lagos and the date, while Premium Times focused more broadly on the committee’s other decisions. The event will recognise leading achievements in African football, including men’s and women’s Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Club of the Year awards. Players, coaches, clubs and administrators from across the continent are expected to attend.
This will be the fourth time Lagos has hosted the CAF Awards, following ceremonies in 2008, 2013 and 2014. Punch noted that the last Lagos edition was held on 8 January 2015, covering the 2014 awards. Yaya Toure won the men’s award for a record fourth consecutive time at that ceremony, while Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala won the women’s prize.
Nigeria has also enjoyed recent success at the awards. Premium Times reported that Ademola Lookman won the men’s Player of the Year award in 2024 after Victor Osimhen claimed it in 2023. The publication described them as the first Nigerian pair to secure consecutive victories in that category since Nwankwo Kanu and Victor Ikpeba did so in 1996 and 1997.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons were named Women’s National Team of the Year in 2024, and Chiamaka Nnadozie won the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award. The 2025 ceremony in Rabat was dominated by Morocco, according to Premium Times. Achraf Hakimi and Ghizlane Chebbak won the men’s and women’s Player of the Year awards, while Yassine Bounou and Nnadozie received the goalkeeper honours.
The 2026 nominees have not yet been announced, so the reports do not establish which players or teams will compete for the next awards. CAF’s executive committee also approved amendments to the Champions League and Confederation Cup regulations. Under the revised rules, a player may represent more than one club in a single interclub season.
Clubs may register up to 40 players and replace four players in the final registration window, provided those replacements have not appeared in a CAF interclub match during that season. Disciplinary cases will now go to the CAF Disciplinary Board rather than the Interclub Committee. The committee confirmed that Nigeria will host CAF’s Ordinary General Assembly on 21 November.
It also scheduled the 2026 Women’s Champions League final tournament for 1 to 15 November and awarded Senegal the 2026 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations, set for 28 November to 6 December. Premium Times added that Edo Queens’ participation in the women’s club competition remains under challenge after the annulment of their WAFU B victory following a protest by Ampem Dakoa.
Vertrix News compared the attributed reports listed below and wrote this independent synthesis. Claims remain attributed where independent verification was unavailable.