President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved Nigeria’s bid to host the 2026 Confederation of African Football, CAF, Awards and the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday following a meeting between Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe at the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
Among those present at the meeting were Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; NFF President Ibrahim Gusau; former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President, Amaju Pinnick; and CAF Acting General Secretary, Samson Adamu.
The federation stated that the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly would be held in October this year and would bring together football administrators and officials from across Africa.
“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 statement read.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally features presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions, and top football stakeholders on the continent.
The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as one of African football’s biggest events, celebrating outstanding players, coaches, and teams across the continent.
The most recent edition of the awards took place in Rabat on November 19, 2025, with Morocco dominating several categories.
Achraf Hakimi won the African Men’s Player of the Year award after helping Paris Saint-Germain secure the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 titles. He finished ahead of Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen.
Morocco also claimed other major honours, with Yassine Bounou winning Goalkeeper of the Year, Othmane Maamma named Young Player of the Year, and Ghizlane Chebbak emerging as Women’s Player of the Year.
Nigeria, however, maintained a strong showing in the women’s categories, with Chiamaka Nnadozie retaining the Goalkeeper of the Year award, while the Nigeria women’s national football team won Women’s National Team of the Year.
Nigeria has previously hosted the CAF Awards four times, with the last edition held in Lagos in January 2015 at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre.
At the 2015 ceremony, Yaya Touré won his fourth consecutive African Player of the Year award, equalling the record set by Samuel Eto’o. Nigeria’s Vincent Enyeama was among the top three nominees after an impressive season with Lille.
The event also marked the beginning of Asisat Oshoala’s dominance in African women’s football, as she won her first Women’s Player of the Year award on home soil before going on to claim a record six titles.
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