President Bola Tinubu has approved Nigeria’s proposed bid to host the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony, as well as the confederation’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly.
The announcement was made at the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, following a high-level meeting between Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe.
Senior officials in attendance included Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, former NFF President and CAF Presidential Special Adviser Amaju Pinnick, and CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly, scheduled for October this year, will bring together presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions, and senior football administrators from across the continent, serving as a critical forum for governance and the future direction of African football.
If the bid is successful, Nigeria would take over from Morocco, which has hosted the CAF Awards consecutively for the past three years, with the most recent edition held in Rabat in November 2025.
Hosting both events is expected to boost Nigeria’s sports tourism profile and further position the country as a key destination for major continental sporting events.
Nigeria last hosted the CAF Awards gala on January 6, 2017, when Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez won the men’s best player award and Asisat Oshoala claimed the women’s prize. CAF is expected to make a final decision on the host city for both events soon.
