The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has brought forward the date of the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony, with the event now scheduled to hold on December 2 instead of the previously announced December 7.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the football governing body confirmed that the ceremony will take place at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, formerly known as the National Theatre, in Lagos.
CAF explained that the revised date would see Africa’s leading footballers, coaches and teams gather earlier than planned for one of the continent’s biggest football celebrations.
The awards ceremony will recognise outstanding performances and contributions to African football over the past year.
The 2026 edition will be particularly significant as Lagos prepares to host the prestigious ceremony for the first time since 2014.
A total of 18 award categories will be presented, headlined by the CAF Men’s Player of the Year and CAF Women’s Player of the Year awards. Other categories will recognise the achievements of coaches, goalkeepers, young players, clubs and national teams.
One of the major talking points ahead of this year’s ceremony is the absence of Nigerian footballers from top categories ahead of the awards.
The voting process for the 2026 CAF Awards commenced on November 5 and is scheduled to close on November 20.
According to CAF, the selection process involves representatives of Member Associations and clubs, alongside eligible national team coaches and captains.
The governing body says the voting structure is designed to promote fairness and transparency, with independent monitoring measures in place to protect the credibility of the process.
With the ceremony now confirmed for December 2, anticipation continues to build ahead of the return of African football’s biggest awards night to Nigeria.
