President Bola Tinubu has approved Nigeria’s proposal to host the 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) awards ceremony and the 48th CAF ordinary general assembly.
The approval followed a meeting between the Nigerian president, and Patrice Motsepe, CAF president, during the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, minister of foreign affairs; Ibrahim Gusau, NFF president; Amaju Pinnick, former NFF president and special adviser to the CAF president; alongside Samson Adamu, CAF acting general secretary, attended the meeting.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) disclosed the development in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The federation said the 48th CAF ordinary general assembly would hold in October and attract 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 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly will take place in October this year.”
The CAF ordinary general assembly usually convenes presidents of the organisation’s 54 member associations, delegates from six zonal unions, and senior football officials.
CAF’s awards ceremony is regarded as the continent’s flagship football event recognising outstanding performers across African football.
The latest edition of the awards took place in Rabat, Morocco, on November 19, 2025.
Morocco dominated several categories at the ceremony.
Achraf Hakimi, Morocco defender, claimed the African men’s player of the year prize after helping Paris Saint-Germain secure the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 titles.
Hakimi became the first Moroccan footballer to win the award since Mustapha Hadji achieved the feat in 1998.
The defender finished ahead of Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen in the final rankings.
Yassine Bounou won goalkeeper of the year, while Othmane Maamma secured the young player of the year award for Morocco.
Ghizlane Chebbak also emerged women’s player of the year following her displays at the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria still recorded success in the women’s categories at the ceremony, with Chiamaka Nnadozie, Super Falcons goalkeeper, retaining the women’s goalkeeper of the year award.
Nigeria’s women’s national team also claimed the national team of the year prize after another dominant campaign across competitions.
Nigeria has previously hosted the CAF awards on four occasions, with Lagos staging the most recent edition in January 2015.
Yaya Touré, Ivory Coast legend, secured his fourth consecutive African player of the year award at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre, equalling Samuel Eto’o’s record.
Vincent Enyeama, former Nigeria goalkeeper, was among the final three nominees after an outstanding campaign with Lille but finished behind Touré and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The 2015 ceremony also marked the beginning of Asisat Oshoala’s dominance in African women’s football after she won her first women’s player of the year title on home soil.
Oshoala subsequently extended the achievement into a record six women’s player of the year awards.
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