The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has moved the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony to Wednesday, December 2, in Lagos.
The event, initially slated for December 7, is scheduled to commence at 7 pm local time.
It will take place at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, formerly called the National Theatre, in Lagos.
CAF said the ceremony would bring together some of Africa’s top players, coaches and teams to honour their accomplishments in the continent’s football 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 awards will return to Lagos for the first time since the 2014 edition, with CAF saying the city would provide a fitting setting for the celebration of African football, culture, music and entertainment.
The 2026 edition will recognise outstanding performances across 18 categories, including the CAF Men’s Player of the Year and CAF Women’s Player of the Year awards.
Other categories will recognise coaches, goalkeepers, emerging talents, clubs and national teams.
CAF said voting for the awards was ongoing and would run from November 5 to 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.
CAF said the process was designed to ensure broad representation, fairness and transparency, with independent monitoring to protect the integrity of the results.
The date change comes after CAF confirmed Lagos as the host city for the ceremony in October, initially scheduling it for December 7.
The return to Lagos marks the first time the city will host the awards since 2014. Previous editions were also held there in 2008 and 2013.
At the 2014 edition, which took place 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 won 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 the nominations in the other six men’s categories, while the Super Falcons missed out on the top women’s awards.
