Nigeria is once again preparing to take centre stage in African football after approval was granted for the country to host the 2026 CAF Awards alongside the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
The decision followed a meeting between CAF President Patrice Motsepe and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, according to the Nigeria Football Federation.
Present at the meeting were Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Pinnick, as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the NFF confirmed that the CAF Ordinary General Assembly will hold in October this year, bringing together football administrators and federation leaders from CAF’s 54 member nations.
The hosting rights is a reminder of Nigeria's enduring influence in African football, a nation whose passion, talent and football heritage continue to shape the continental game.
The CAF Awards remain African football’s biggest celebration night, honouring the continent’s finest players, teams and rising stars in an atmosphere of prestige and excitement.
The last edition took place in Rabat, Morocco, on November 19, 2025, where Achraf Hakimi won the African Men’s Player of the Year award after helping Paris Saint-Germain secure both the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 titles. The Moroccan defender finished ahead of Mohamed Salah and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, becoming the first Moroccan winner since Mustapha Hadji in 1998.
Nigeria, however, maintained a strong presence in the women’s categories as Super Falcons goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie successfully defended her Goalkeeper of the Year title, while the Super Falcons were named National Team of the Year after another impressive campaign.
Nigeria has previously hosted the CAF Awards four times, with Lagos staging the most recent edition in January 2015 at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre.
The 2015 edition marked the beginning of Asisat Oshoala’s remarkable dominance in African women’s football, as she won her first Women’s Player of the Year award on home soil before eventually extending the record to six titles.
With another major CAF event now heading to Nigeria, the continent’s football spotlight is once again turning toward a country that has long remained one of Africa’s most powerful sporting voices.
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