CAF has set the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony for Wednesday 2 December in Lagos, five days earlier than planned. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco), the reigning champion, will defend his crown against Sadio Mané, Brahim Diaz and Amad Diallo.
A change of calendar for the continental awards. CAF announced this Tuesday 10 November that the 2026 CAF Awards will be held on Wednesday 2 December, and not 7 December as previously planned, according to Foot-Africa.com. The evening will begin at 19:00 in Lagos, i.e. 18:00 GMT and 20:00 in Cairo, at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, better known as the National Theatre.
Eighteen categories will be rewarded, headed by the African Player of the Year and the African Women’s Player of the Year. Achraf Hakimi, the reigning African Ballon d’Or holder, puts his trophy on the line against notably Sadio Mané, Brahim Diaz and Amad Diallo, according to Foot-Africa.com.
Hakimi up against Mané, Sarr and Gueye
The list of ten nominees for the African Player of the Year title also includes Sadio Mané, the Al-Nassr forward, Ismaïla Sarr and Pape Gueye on the Senegalese side, according to wiwsport.com. Brahim Diaz, Amad Diallo, Yoane Wissa, Antoine Semenyo, Ismaël Saibari and Teboho Mokoena are also named.
Senegal therefore places three players on this list, making the country one of the most represented among the nominees in this category.
Senegal and Tunisia on several fronts
Beyond the individual trophy, Senegal is present on several fronts. It is a candidate in the National Team of the Year category and has two coaches nominated for the best coach title: Pape Thiaw, coach of the Senegalese national team, and Lamine Ndiaye, also coach of the Senegal national team, again according to wiwsport.com. Ibrahim Mbaye is among the nominees for the best young player title.
Tunisia is nominated in the national team of the year category, and Espérance Sportive de Tunis in the club of the year category, according to Mosaïque FM. In the best men’s club category, USM Alger and CR Belouizdad are notably nominated, and Algeria is in the running for the best men’s national team title, according to Foot-Africa.com.
For the best goalkeeper title, five names are retained: Algeria’s Oussama Benbot, Morocco’s Yassine Bounou and Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Senegal’s Édouard Mendy and South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, according to Foot-Africa.com.
Lagos hosts the ceremony again
Lagos hosts the continental awards evening again, a first since 2014, Foot-Africa.com indicates. Initially scheduled for 7 December, the ceremony has been brought forward by five days, as reported by Mosaïque FM and wiwsport.com.
Voting takes place from 5 to 20 November and involves member associations, clubs, as well as eligible coaches and captains, with independent oversight, wiwsport.com specifies. The ceremony will take place on 2 December in Lagos, at 19:00 local time.