The CAF Awards 2026 will take place on Wednesday, 2 December, at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts in Lagos, Nigeria, bringing together some of Africa’s leading footballers, coaches, clubs and national teams for the continent’s annual football honours.
The ceremony marks the return of the CAF Awards to Lagos for the first time in 12 years. Originally scheduled for 7 December, the event has been moved to 2 December and will feature 18 award categories covering men’s and women’s football. The programme will recognise outstanding performances by players, coaches, national teams and clubs across African football.
The 2026 nominations have also produced a notable situation for the host country. No Nigerian player appears on the ten-person shortlist for the CAF Men’s Player of the Year award. This means Super Eagles forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will not be competing for the individual honour, alongside Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, who is also absent from the final list. Nigeria has no representative in the CAF Women’s Player of the Year category either, with goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, a three-time Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year winner, also missing from the final nominations.
However, Nigeria will still have several representatives at the ceremony. The Super Falcons are shortlisted for Women’s National Team of the Year, where they will compete against Algeria, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Morocco and South Africa.
Nigeria also has representation in the individual women’s categories. Christiana Uzoma, goalkeeper for Edo Queens and the Falconets, has been nominated for Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year. Young Nigerian internationals Seimeyeha Janet Akekoromowei and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi are also among the nominees for Women’s Young Player of the Year.
The Men’s Player of the Year category features a strong group of established international stars. Defending winner Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain leads the nominations alongside compatriots Brahim Diaz and Ismael Saibari. Senegal has three representatives: Sadio Mané, Ismaila Sarr and Pape Gueye. The remaining nominees are Côte d’Ivoire’s Amad Diallo, Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo, DR Congo’s Yoane Wissa and South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena.
ALSO READ: Adekunle Gold Brings Black-Tie Elegance and Afrobeats to the 2026 Ballon d’Or
The Women’s Player of the Year shortlist is equally competitive, with Zambia’s Barbra Banda and Malawi’s sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga among the leading names. South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana, Ghana’s Portia Boakye, Algeria’s Marine Dafeur and Morocco’s Hanan Ait El Haj also feature. Cameroon has three nominees in Marie Ngah Manga, Michaely Bihina and Monique Ngock.
Beyond the two main individual awards, the 2026 CAF Awards will recognise performances across several other areas of the game. The categories include Men’s and Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year and Club of the Year, among other honours.
Voting for the 2026 CAF Awards opened on 5 November and is scheduled to close on 20 November 2026. The results will be celebrated at the Lagos ceremony on 2 December, bringing together representatives from across African football. With the Nigerian nominees competing for honours in several categories, the event will also give the host country an opportunity to welcome the continent’s football community back to the city.
