President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved Nigeria’s proposed hosting of the 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards Ceremony, as well as CAF’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly.
According to a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the approval was announced by the President during the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, following a meeting with CAF President Patrice Motsepe.
Those present at the meeting included Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Pinnick, and CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
The NFF stated that the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly will take place in October this year, bringing together leading figures in African football, including presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives from the six zonal unions and senior football administrators from across the continent.
The CAF Awards ceremony, regarded as African football’s flagship annual event, celebrates the continent’s top players, coaches, clubs and national teams in an atmosphere of glamour and prestige. CAF is expected to announce the official host city for both events in the coming months.
Nigeria has a long history with the CAF Awards, having hosted the ceremony on multiple occasions, including the 2015 edition held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos. At that event, Ivory Coast legend Yaya Touré won his fourth consecutive African Player of the Year award, equalling the record of Cameroon great Samuel Eto’o.
The country also hosted the 2017 edition, where Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez claimed the men’s award, while Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala won the women’s prize.
The most recent CAF Awards ceremony took place in Rabat, Morocco, in November 2025. Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi was named African Men’s Player of the Year after helping his club win the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 title. Super Falcons’ goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie successfully defended her Goalkeeper of the Year crown that same year.
