By Ghazali Ibrahim
Nigeria will host Africa’s biggest football awards ceremony for the first time in 12 years without a representative in either the Men’s or Women’s Player of the Year categories, raising questions about the country’s current standing in African football.
The 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards will take place on December 2 at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, popularly known as the National Theatre, in Lagos.
The ceremony was initially scheduled for December 7 before CAF announced on Tuesday that it had moved the event forward by five days.
Nigeria’s absence from the two major individual categories comes despite its record in African football, with the country having produced several continental award winners over the years.
Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen, who won the Men’s Player of the Year award in 2023, and former winner Ademola Lookman, who claimed the honour in 2024, failed to make this year’s shortlist.
The situation is similar in the women’s category, where no Super Falcons player was nominated for the Women’s Player of the Year award for the first time since the category was introduced in 2001.
The omission comes after the Super Falcons’ campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, where they failed to retain their continental title.
However, Nigeria will still have representatives in other categories at the awards.
Edo Queens goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma is nominated for the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, while Seimeyeha Janet Akekoromowei and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi are shortlisted for the Women’s Young Player of the Year category.
The Super Falcons are also among the nominees for the Women’s National Team of the Year award.
Meanwhile, the Men’s Player of the Year shortlist features Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, who is seeking to retain the award, Senegal’s Sadio Mane, Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo, Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo and DR Congo’s Yoane Wissa, among others.
In the women’s category, Cameroon, Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria and Ghana have players competing for the continent’s top individual honour.
Nigeria’s return as host comes after the country last staged the CAF Awards in 2014, when the ceremony brought together leading football personalities from across the continent.
The December edition will recognise achievements across 18 categories, including individual performances, coaching, goalkeeping, emerging talents, clubs and national teams.
CAF said the ceremony would begin at 7pm Nigerian time, with voting for the awards running from November 5 to November 20.
The return of the awards to Lagos offers Nigeria an opportunity to showcase its football heritage and cultural attractions, even as the absence of its players from the two leading individual categories provides another talking point ahead of the ceremony.
