President Bola Tinubu approves Nigeria’s hosting of 2026 CAF Awards
President Bola Tinubu approves Nigeria’s hosting of 2026 CAF Awards
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved Nigeria’s bid to host the 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards, alongside the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
The approval was announced during the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, following a high-level meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe. The development was confirmed by the Nigeria Football Federation in a statement released on Tuesday.
According to the federation, the CAF Ordinary General Assembly is expected to hold later this year and will bring together football administrators from CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of zonal unions, and other major stakeholders in African football.
Top Nigerian officials present at the meeting included Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, former NFF President Amaju Pinnick, and CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
The CAF Awards remain one of the biggest football events on the African continent, celebrating outstanding players, coaches, teams, and football personalities every year. Nigeria last hosted the ceremony in 2017, when Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez and Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala emerged winners in the men’s and women’s categories respectively.
The hosting rights are expected to boost Nigeria’s sports tourism profile and further strengthen the country’s growing influence in African football administration. CAF is expected to announce the final host city for the events in the coming months.
