President Bola Tinubu has approved Nigeria’s bid to host the 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards and the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
The approval was confirmed in a statement released on Tuesday by the Nigeria Football Federation following a meeting between Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe during the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi.
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; as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
In the statement, the NFF disclosed that the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly will hold in October this year and will bring together major football administrators 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 attracts presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions, and other top football officials across the continent.
The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as African football’s biggest celebration event, honouring outstanding players, coaches, teams, and football personalities in a glamorous atmosphere.
The last CAF Awards ceremony was held in Rabat on November 19, 2025, with Morocco dominating several major categories.
Morocco international 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 succeeded Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman and became the first Moroccan player to win the award since Mustapha Hadji in 1998.
Hakimi finished ahead of Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen in the final rankings.
Nigeria still maintained a strong presence in the women’s categories. Chiamaka Nnadozie successfully defended her Goalkeeper of the Year award, while the Nigeria Women's National Football Team won National Team of the Year after another impressive campaign.
Nigeria has hosted the CAF Awards four times in the past, with Lagos staging the most recent edition in January 2015.
Elijah Adeyemi
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