LAGOS, Nigeria — 11 November 2026. The CAF Awards 2026 will take place on Wednesday, 2 December, bringing the ceremony forward from the 7 December date used in earlier official announcements. CAF confirmed the revised schedule in a notice published on 10 November.
The ceremony is scheduled for 19:00 Lagos local time, WAT (UTC+1), at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, also known as the National Theatre.
What is the correct CAF Awards 2026 date?
CAF’s latest announcement schedules the Lagos ceremony for Wednesday, 2 December, at 19:00 local time. Earlier nomination notices gave Monday, 7 December. The newer notice supersedes that schedule; nomination lists, voting and the announcement of winners remain separate stages of the awards process.
The newer notice resolves the conflicting dates
CAF’s revised ceremony announcement explicitly presents the change as bringing the event forward. It does not give a reason for the adjustment.
The older date was not simply an unofficial rumour. CAF’s 4 November men’s nomination announcement still names the later Monday. Its 3 November women’s nomination notice gives the same earlier schedule.
An Executive Committee meeting notice published on 21 October also listed that date among upcoming CAF events. Readers may therefore encounter an old schedule even on an official page. The publication sequence is the important distinction: the later, specific scheduling announcement takes precedence over those earlier references.
For supporters, clubs, media teams and anyone arranging attendance, saved calendar entries and older promotional material should be checked against the revised notice. A previously accurate date can become obsolete without the underlying nomination announcement being withdrawn.
Voting is not an open invitation to every supporter
SPORTS TRENDS
CAF Awards 2026 Date Changed: December 2 in Lagos
11 nov. 2026
11 nov. 2026
5 min read
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LAGOS, Nigeria — 11 November 2026. The CAF Awards 2026 will take place on Wednesday, 2 December, bringing the ceremony forward from the 7 December date used in earlier official announcements. CAF confirmed the revised schedule in a notice published on 10 November.
The ceremony is scheduled for 19:00 Lagos local time, WAT (UTC+1), at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, also known as the National Theatre.
What is the correct CAF Awards 2026 date?
CAF’s latest announcement schedules the Lagos ceremony for Wednesday, 2 December, at 19:00 local time. Earlier nomination notices gave Monday, 7 December. The newer notice supersedes that schedule; nomination lists, voting and the announcement of winners remain separate stages of the awards process.
The newer notice resolves the conflicting dates
CAF’s revised ceremony announcement explicitly presents the change as bringing the event forward. It does not give a reason for the adjustment.
The older date was not simply an unofficial rumour. CAF’s 4 November men’s nomination announcement still names the later Monday. Its 3 November women’s nomination notice gives the same earlier schedule.
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An Executive Committee meeting notice published on 21 October also listed that date among upcoming CAF events. Readers may therefore encounter an old schedule even on an official page. The publication sequence is the important distinction: the later, specific scheduling announcement takes precedence over those earlier references.
For supporters, clubs, media teams and anyone arranging attendance, saved calendar entries and older promotional material should be checked against the revised notice. A previously accurate date can become obsolete without the underlying nomination announcement being withdrawn.
Voting is not an open invitation to every supporter
CAF says voting runs from 5 to 20 November, involving member associations and clubs, with eligible coaches and captains encouraged to vote. The notice does not announce a universal public ballot.
That distinction matters when links circulate asking supporters to choose a winner. A fan poll, a social-media preference and a vote accepted under CAF’s awards process are different things.
The schedule announcement does not authorise every external voting page that uses the event’s name.
Nor does the voting period reveal a result. Being nominated, appearing on a shortlist and winning an award should remain separate descriptions until CAF announces the relevant outcome.
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Tendances actuelles
The change of ceremony date should not be interpreted as a change to the published candidates. The revised notice is a scheduling update; it does not publish replacement nomination lists or name winners.
Men’s and women’s nominations remain distinct
The men’s announcement identifies seven categories, covering players, goalkeepers, interclub players, coaches, young players, national teams and clubs. Its leading individual nominees include Achraf Hakimi, Sadio Mané, Antoine Semenyo and Brahim Diaz.
The women’s announcement lists four categories in that release: Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Young Player of the Year and National Team of the Year. The players highlighted include Barbra Banda, Thembi Kgatlana, Tabitha Chawinga and Temwa Chawinga.
These releases describe the categories and nominees they contain. They should not be combined into an invented final ranking, or treated as evidence that a particular player is certain to win. A familiar name attracting discussion is still a nominee until the official result is announced.
For national audiences, the lists provide a reason to follow achievements across different leagues and competitions. The ceremony’s appeal extends beyond one national team, but the awards are not themselves a match or a tournament qualification event.
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Attendance and broadcast arrangements need their own confirmation
The revised schedule establishes when and where CAF plans to hold the ceremony. It does not, in that notice, provide a public ticket-sales route, attendance entitlement or a complete broadcaster-by-country schedule.
Supporters planning to watch should check their broadcaster’s confirmed programme information closer to the event. Anyone seeking to attend should rely on an authorised invitation, accreditation or ticket announcement rather than assuming a venue and start time guarantee public admission.
XTRAfrica’s football coverage also includes William Troost-Ekong’s career profile and Arthur Okonkwo’s Nigeria call-up. Its account of Awilo Longomba at the 2025 CAF Awards concerns a previous edition, not this year’s programme.
For the current ceremony, the next useful confirmations are authorised viewing and attendance arrangements, followed by the official results. None should be inferred from an older date graphic or a nomination announcement.
