President Bola Tinubu has officially approved Nigeria’s bid to host the 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards, alongside the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
The approval was secured during a high-level meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. According to a statement released Tuesday by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the decision marks a major diplomatic and sporting victory for the country.
Present at the Nairobi meeting were Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; NFF President Ibrahim Gusau; former NFF President Amaju Pinnick, who currently serves as Special Adviser to the CAF President; and CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
The NFF confirmed that the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly will take place in October this year, convening presidents from CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of six zonal unions, and other top football officials from across the continent. The CAF Awards ceremony, African football’s most prestigious annual event celebrating the continent’s best players and teams, will also be held in Nigeria at a date to be announced.
This will be Nigeria’s fifth time hosting the CAF Awards. The most recent edition held in the country took place in Lagos in January 2015 at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre, where Ivorian legend Yaya Touré claimed his fourth consecutive African Player of the Year award, equaling Samuel Eto’o’s record. That same ceremony also saw Asisat Oshoala win her first Women’s Player of the Year award on home soil, beginning her journey to a historic six titles.
The most recent CAF Awards, held in Rabat, Morocco, on November 19, 2025, saw Morocco dominate the major categories. Achraf Hakimi succeeded Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman as African Men’s Player of the Year, becoming the first Moroccan winner since Mustapha Hadji in 1998. However, Nigeria still celebrated strong showings, with Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie successfully defending her Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year crown and Nigeria’s women’s national team winning National Team of the Year.
With President Tinubu’s approval now secured, all eyes turn to which Nigerian city will host the 2026 ceremonies—and whether a Nigerian star, such as Lookman or Osimhen, can reclaim the men’s top prize on home soil.
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