President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given official approval for Nigeria to pursue the hosting rights for the 2026 CAF Awards and the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
The approval was confirmed during the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, after Tinubu held talks with Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football.
A statement released on Tuesday by the Nigeria Football Federation said the meeting focused on Nigeria’s growing role in African football administration and its readiness to host major continental events.
Present at the high-level 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; alongside CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
According to the federation, the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly is scheduled to hold in October and will bring together leading football administrators and stakeholders from across the African continent.
“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 is one of African football’s most important governance gatherings. It brings together the presidents of all 54 member associations under CAF, alongside representatives of the six zonal unions and senior administrators from across the continent. It serves as the highest decision-making forum in African football, where policies, reforms, and the future direction of the game are discussed.
Alongside it, the CAF Awards stands as the flagship celebration of African football excellence — a night that honours the continent’s best players, coaches, and teams across men’s and women’s categories.
The most recent edition of the awards was held in Rabat, Morocco, on November 19, 2025. Morocco dominated several of the top honours. Achraf Hakimi claimed the African Men’s Player of the Year award, succeeding Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman. Morocco also swept other major categories, with Yassine Bounou named Goalkeeper of the Year, Othmane Maamma winning Young Player of the Year, and Ghizlane Chebbak crowned Women’s Player of the Year.
Despite Morocco’s dominance, Nigeria maintained a strong presence in the women’s game. Chiamaka Nnadozie retained her Goalkeeper of the Year award, while the Super Falcons were named Women’s National Team of the Year.
Nigeria has hosted the CAF Awards ceremony on four occasions. The most recent was in January 2015 in Lagos, at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre. That edition saw Ivory Coast legend Yaya Touré win his fourth consecutive African Player of the Year title. It 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.