The 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards will take place in Lagos on Wednesday, December 2, with the continent’s leading footballers, coaches, clubs and national teams expected to attend the annual ceremony.
The event is scheduled to begin at 7pm Nigerian time (8pm in Cairo and 6pm GMT) at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, popularly known as the National Theatre.
The ceremony will mark the return of the prestigious awards to Nigeria’s commercial capital for the first time in 12 years. Lagos last hosted the event in 2014.
CAF said this year’s edition would combine football with Nigerian culture, with music and entertainment expected to feature prominently during the celebrations.
A total of 18 award categories will be presented, with the CAF Men’s Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year awards expected to attract the most attention.
Other categories will recognise outstanding performances by coaches, goalkeepers, young players, clubs and national teams.
Voting for the awards opened on November 5 and will close on November 20, covering both the men’s and women’s categories.
CAF Member Associations, clubs, eligible coaches and national team captains are participating in the voting process to determine the winners.
The continental governing body said the process was designed to ensure broad representation across African football while maintaining fairness and transparency.
Independent monitoring will also oversee the voting process to protect the credibility of the results.
