CAF announces new date for the best awards in Africa 2026

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has set a new date for the 2026 Africa Awards ceremony on December 2, moving it from the previously scheduled date of December 7. The event will take place in Lagos, Nigeria, starting at 18:00 GMT.

The ceremony will see the attendance of a selection of the most prominent stars of African football, coaches, and representatives of clubs and national teams, to celebrate the most notable individual and collective achievements witnessed on the continent this year.

Lagos will host the CAF Awards after a 16-year absence.

The CAF Awards return to Lagos for the first time since the 2014 edition, where the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Arts, known as the National Theatre, will host the event that combines football, cultural heritage, music, and entertainment.

The awards ceremony is set to witness the distribution of awards in 18 different categories, led by the Best Player and Best Player awards in Africa, alongside the recognition of coaches, goalkeepers, young players, clubs, and national teams.

Voting for the best awards in the continent began on November 5 and will continue until the 20th of the month, with the participation of member associations and clubs, as well as coaches and team captains eligible to vote, following a mechanism aimed at ensuring integrity and transparency in selecting the winners.

A notable Arab presence has emerged in the nominations for the best in Africa, highlighting the talent and contributions of players from the region.

The list of nominees for the Best Coach in Africa features notable Arab representation, including Hossam Hassan, the former coach of the Egypt national team, Moroccans Walid Regragui and Mohamed Wahbi, along with Moataz Gamal, the coach of Zamalek, Senegalese Lamine Ndiaye, coach of USM Alger, and Pape Thiaw.

In the Best Player award within the continent, several Arab names stand out, including Ahmed Khaldi of USM Alger, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet of Al Ahly FC, Mohamed Shehata of Zamalek SC, Abdelraouf Yaakoub of Al Hilal, Mohamed Harimat of AS FAR Rabat, Mounir Chouiar of RS Berkane, Sofiane Mouden of Hassania Agadir, and Abdennour Iheb Belhocini of JS Kabylie.

The Best Young Player award sees competition between Egyptian Hamza Abdelkarim of FC Barcelona, Algerian Ibrahim Mazah of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and Moroccans Ayyoub Bouaddi of Manchester City and Abdellah Ouazane of Ajax.

At the national team level, the list of candidates for the Best African Men's National Team award includes four Arab teams: Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cape Verde, Senegal, and South Africa.

Zamalek and Arab clubs are competing for the title of best African club.

In the competition for the best club in Africa, Zamalek is present among the candidates, alongside USM Alger and CR Belouizdad from Algeria, as well as Olympique Safi, AS FAR Rabat, and RS Berkane from Morocco, in addition to Al Hilal from Sudan and Espérance Sportive de Tunis.

Al Ahly FC is absent from the list as several Arab clubs compete for the award.

There is an Arab competition in women's awards.

In women's football, the nominees for the African Women's Player of the Year award include Morocco's Hanane Ait Haj and Algeria's Marine Dufour, a player for French club Fleury, alongside 8 other players.

Algeria and Morocco are competing for the award for Best African Women's National Team, alongside Cape Verde, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Moroccan Kawtar Azraf, a midfielder for FC Barcelona B, is striving to win the Best Emerging African Player award, while the list for Best Goalkeeper features Algerian Chloé Nqazi, who plays for Marseille, and Moroccan Khadija Rmishi, goalkeeper for AS FAR Rabat, alongside 8 other goalkeepers.