The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rescheduled the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony to Wednesday, December 2, in Lagos.
The ceremony, initially scheduled for December 7, will begin at 7pm local time at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, formerly known as the National Theatre.
CAF announced the change in a statement, saying the event would bring together the continent’s leading footballers, coaches and teams to celebrate their achievements over the past year.
“The new date, 2 December 2026, brings forward one of the most prestigious events on the African sporting calendar, as the continent’s finest players, coaches and teams gather in Lagos for a glittering celebration of the achievements that have defined another remarkable year for African football,” the statement read.
The 2026 edition will mark the return of the awards to Lagos for the first time since 2014, with the city expected to provide a platform for celebrating African football, culture, music and entertainment.
The awards will recognise outstanding performances across 18 categories, including the CAF Men’s Player of the Year and CAF Women’s Player of the Year.
Other categories will honour exceptional performances by coaches, goalkeepers, emerging talents, clubs and national teams.
CAF said 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 captains encouraged to cast their votes directly in recognition of the outstanding performers of the year,” the statement added.
The continental football governing body said the voting process was designed to guarantee broad representation, fairness and transparency, with independent monitoring to protect the integrity of the results.
CAF had confirmed Lagos as the host city in October, initially fixing December 7 for the ceremony.
The return to Lagos marks the city’s third hosting of the awards, having previously staged the event in 2008, 2013 and 2014.
At the 2014 edition, held on January 8, 2015, former Ivory Coast captain Yaya Toure won the Men’s Player of the Year award for a record fourth consecutive time, while Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala emerged winner of the Women’s Player of the Year prize.
Meanwhile, Nigeria will have no representative in the CAF Men’s Player of the Year race after the country was omitted from the 10-man shortlist released on November 4.
The Super Eagles were also absent from nominations in the other six men’s categories, while the Super Falcons missed out on the top women’s awards
