AFCON 2025
The 2026 CAF Awards ceremony has been rescheduled from December 7 to December 2, with the reluctance of European clubs to release their players reportedly influencing the decision.
According to The Guardian, an official of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) disclosed that the original date could have prevented several nominees from attending the ceremony because of their clubs’ unwillingness to release them.
The official explained that CAF had to reconsider its initial schedule to ensure that the eventual winners and other nominees would be available for the occasion.
“We had no choice really. You do an event, and the winners are not there, or you change [the date] so they can be there,” the official reportedly said.
The ceremony will now take place on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, formerly known as the National Theatre, in Lagos. It is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm Nigerian time.
The 2026 edition will mark the return of the prestigious awards to Lagos for the first time since 2014.
A total of 18 categories will be recognised, with the CAF Men’s Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year awards among the major highlights of the night.
Voting for the awards is currently ongoing and will close on November 20, with national team coaches, captains, CAF’s Technical Study Group and selected media representatives participating in the selection process.
The ceremony is expected to bring together some of Africa’s biggest football personalities to celebrate outstanding performances and achievements across the continent.
