CAF Reschedules 2026 Awards Ceremony to December 2 in Lagos

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rescheduled the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony to Wednesday, December 2, 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria.

The ceremony, initially scheduled for December 7, will now commence at 7:00 p.m. local time at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, formerly known as the National Theatre, Lagos.

According to CAF, the prestigious event will bring together some of Africa’s finest footballers, coaches, clubs and national teams to celebrate their outstanding achievements over the past year.

In a statement announcing the change, CAF described the new date as an opportunity to bring forward one of the continent’s biggest sporting celebrations.

The statement noted that Africa’s leading football personalities would gather in Lagos for an evening celebrating the performances and accomplishments that have shaped another remarkable year in African football.

The 2026 edition will feature 18 award categories, including the highly anticipated CAF Men’s Player of the Year and CAF Women’s Player of the Year awards.

Other categories will recognise outstanding achievements by coaches, goalkeepers, young players, clubs and national teams across the continent.

CAF also disclosed that voting for the awards commenced on November 5 and would close on November 20 across the men’s and women’s categories.

The voting process involves CAF Member Associations and clubs, with eligible coaches and national team captains expected to participate in selecting the year’s outstanding performers.

The football governing body said measures had been put in place to ensure fairness, transparency and broad representation, adding that independent monitoring would be used to protect the credibility of the voting process.

The decision to reschedule the ceremony follows CAF’s earlier announcement in October confirming Lagos as the host city for the 2026 awards.

The return to Lagos marks the first time the Nigerian city will host the ceremony since 2014. The city also hosted previous editions in 2008 and 2013.

At the 2014 edition, held on January 8, 2015, former Ivory Coast captain Yaya Toure emerged as the Men’s Player of the Year, making history by winning the prestigious award for a record fourth consecutive time.

Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala also won the Women’s Player of the Year award at the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Nigeria will have no representative in the 2026 CAF Men’s Player of the Year category following the country’s omission from the 10-player shortlist released on November 4.

The Super Eagles were also absent from nominations in the other six men’s award categories, while the Super Falcons failed to secure nominations in the major women’s award categories.

The December 2 ceremony is expected to attract prominent football personalities, administrators and stakeholders from across Africa, with Lagos set to provide a platform for celebrating the continent’s football excellence, culture, music and entertainment.

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