The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony will take place in Lagos on Wednesday, 2 December, five days earlier than originally planned.

CAF announced the revised date on Tuesday, 10 November. The ceremony will begin at 7pm local time, 6pm GMT, at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, formerly known as the National Theatre, in Lagos.

"The new date, 2 December 2026, brings forward one of the most prestigious events on the African sporting calendar, as the continent's finest players, coaches and teams gather in Lagos for a glittering celebration of the achievements that have defined another remarkable year for African football," CAF said in its statement.

Lagos hosts the awards for first time since 2014

The 2026 edition marks the return of the CAF Awards to Lagos for the first time since the 2014 ceremony. CAF confirmed Lagos as the host city following its Executive Committee meeting in October, when the event was initially scheduled for 7 December.

The awards night will recognise outstanding performances across 18 categories, including the CAF Men's Player of the Year and CAF Women's Player of the Year awards, as well as Best Coach, Best Goalkeeper, Best Young Player, Best Club and Best National Team.

Voting open until 20 November

Voting for the 2026 awards is already under way and runs from 5 to 20 November across the men's and women's categories.

Morocco's Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain, Brahim Diaz of Real Madrid and Ismael Saibari of Bayern Munich are among the nominees for the Men's Player of the Year award. Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian forward, is notably absent from the shortlist.

No Nigerian player has been nominated in either the Men's Player of the Year or Women's Player of the Year categories, despite Nigeria hosting the ceremony.

CAF released the official 10-man shortlist for the Men's Player of the Year award on 4 November. Hakimi, Diaz and Saibari are among the contenders, while Salah's absence from the list has drawn attention across the continent.

The ceremony will begin at 7pm local time in Lagos, which is 8pm in Cairo and 6pm GMT. CAF described the awards as one of the most prestigious events on the African sporting calendar, and said the return to Lagos gives Nigeria's commercial capital the stage for a night bringing together the continent's leading footballers, coaches and teams.