The Confederation of African Football has rescheduled the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony to Wednesday, December 2, 2026, moving the event forward by five days from its originally planned date of December 7. The ceremony will take place at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, formerly the National Theatre, in Lagos, marking the return of the awards to the city for the first time since 2014.
CAF announced the new date in a statement on Tuesday, November 10, but did not provide an official reason for the change. However, reports indicate that the decision was made to improve the chances of having the continent’s leading footballers present, as European clubs are often reluctant to release players for mid-season ceremonies.
The event is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm local time (6:00 pm GMT, 8:00 pm Cairo time). Lagos was confirmed as the host city for the 2026 edition in October, with the ceremony initially set for December 7.
The nominee shortlists, announced on November 4, have already generated significant discussion. No Nigerian footballer, including Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen, made the 10-man shortlist for the 2026 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award. The nominees include Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Yoane Wissa (DR Congo), Antoine Semenyo (Ghana), Ismael Saibari (Morocco), and Achraf Hakimi (Morocco).
The CAF Awards return to Lagos after more than a decade, with the new date giving the governing body a tighter window to finalise preparations for African football’s biggest night.
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