The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has moved the 2026 CAF Awards forward to Wednesday, 2 December 2026, with Lagos confirmed as the host city.
CAF announced the change in a statement published on its official website on Tuesday, 10 November 2026.
The ceremony will be held at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, also known as the National Theatre, in Lagos. It will start at 7pm Lagos time, 8pm in Cairo and 6pm GMT.
The event will return to Lagos for the first time since 2014. CAF said Nigeria's largest city will host a celebration that combines football with culture, music and entertainment.
The Awards will cover 18 categories. The main prizes are the Men's Player of the Year and the Women's Player of the Year.
Other categories will recognise coaches, goalkeepers, emerging talents, clubs and national teams for their performances during the year.
Voting is already underway. It started on 5 November and will end on 20 November across the men's and women's categories.
CAF Member Associations and clubs are taking part in the vote, alongside eligible coaches and captains, who have been invited to vote directly for the outstanding performers of the year.
According to CAF, the process is designed to ensure broad representation, fairness and transparency. Independent monitoring is also in place to safeguard the integrity of the results.
Africa's leading football personalities are expected to gather in Lagos for the ceremony.
