Lagos To Welcome Africa’s Football Stars For 2026 CAF Awards

Lagos will host Africa’s biggest football stars in December after the Confederation of African Football confirmed the Nigerian commercial capital as the venue for the 2026 CAF Awards.

The prestigious ceremony has been fixed for December 7 and will take place at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly the National Art Theatre.

CAF announced the decision after its Executive Committee meeting held virtually on Friday and chaired by CAF President Patrice Motsepe.

Nigeria’s hosting rights followed President Bola Tinubu’s approval for the country to stage the 2026 CAF Awards and the organisation’s Ordinary General Assembly.

While Lagos will host the awards, Abuja has been selected for the CAF Ordinary General Assembly scheduled for November 21.

The development marks Nigeria’s return as host of the CAF Awards after the country staged the ceremony in 2017.

Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Ghizlane Chebbak are the reigning winners of CAF’s Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards respectively.

Beyond the awards, CAF also announced several decisions concerning its competitions.

The 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League will take place from November 1 to 15, while Senegal will host the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations from November 28 to December 6.

The CAF Executive Committee also approved the competitions calendar for the 2026–2030 period.

Under new interclub competition regulations, players will be permitted to feature for more than one club during a single competition calendar.

Clubs will also be allowed to register a maximum of 40 players in a year and make up to four replacements during the final registration period.

CAF further transferred responsibility for disciplinary matters in interclub competitions from the Interclub Committee to the CAF Disciplinary Board.

The Lagos ceremony is expected to attract Africa’s top footballers, coaches, administrators and other stakeholders as the continent celebrates its outstanding performers of 2026.