Tinubu Gives Nod for Nigeria to Host 2026 CAF Awards, CAF Assembly

President Bola Tinubu has given the green light for Nigeria to host both the 2026 Confederation of African Football Awards and the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly, the Nigeria Football Federation announced on Tuesday.

The approval was confirmed during the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, after Tinubu met with CAF President Patrice Motsepe.

Present at the meeting were Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, CAF presidential adviser Amaju Pinnick, and CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.

According to the NFF, the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly is set for October 2026. The gathering will bring together presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, leaders of the six zonal unions, and other top football officials from across Africa.

The CAF Awards remain the continent’s biggest night for football, honoring the best players, coaches, and teams in a high-profile ceremony.

“The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has approved Nigeria’s proposed hosting of the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football, as well as this year’s CAF Awards Ceremony,” the NFF said in its statement.

The last CAF Awards were held in Rabat, Morocco, on November 19, 2025. Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi won Men’s Player of the Year after a standout season with PSG, becoming the first Moroccan to claim the prize since 1998. He beat out Mohamed Salah and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen. Morocco also swept Goalkeeper of the Year, Young Player of the Year, and Women’s Player of the Year.

Nigeria still had wins on the night. Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie kept her Goalkeeper of the Year title, and the Super Falcons were named Women’s National Team of the Year.

Nigeria has hosted the CAF Awards four times before, with the most recent in Lagos in January 2015 at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre. That year, Yaya Touré won his fourth straight African Player of the Year award, tying Samuel Eto’o’s record. Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was among the final three nominees. The 2015 event also marked Asisat Oshoala’s first Women’s Player of the Year win, the start of her record six titles.

Hosting both events in 2026 would put Nigeria back in the spotlight as a hub for African football.

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