CAF Awards: Hakimi, Osimhen, Diaz set for POTY showdown in Nigeria

Nigeria will welcome several high-profile visitors later this year following the latest development from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Soccernet.ng reports.

The West African nation is set to host the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly as well as the CAF Awards ceremony, both scheduled to take place later this year.

The CAF Ordinary General Assembly, which holds annually and usually brings together prominent figures in African football last held in Kinshasa, Congo in 2025.

Meanwhile, the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony will also be hosted in Nigeria, marking the first time the country will stage the event since 2017. It will also be the fifth time in history that the country will host the prestigious awards ceremony, following previous editions in Lagos and Abuja, as confirmed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Nigeria set to host major 2026 CAF events

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved Nigeria’s bid to host the upcoming CAF General Assembly in October, which will mark the 48th edition of the event, alongside the CAF Awards ceremony.

The decision was finalized during the ongoing African summit in Nairobi, Kenya, where Tinubu met with CAF President Patrice Motsepe and reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to hosting the prestigious events later in the year.

Other dignitaries were present at the meeting, including the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Ibrahim Musa Gusau, Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as well as many others.

Nigeria will also host the CAF Awards, which could become even more memorable if a Nigerian player wins one of the major honours. 

The 2025 edition, held in Morocco, saw the hosts dominate the top categories, with Achraf Hakimi winning the Men’s Player of the Year award ahead of Super Eagles’ Victor Osimhen, while Ghizlane Chebbak beat Rasheedat Ajibade to the Women’s Player of the Year prize.

Osimhen is expected to be among the frontrunners once again after an outstanding campaign with Galatasaray, where he helped the club secure a fourth straight Turkish Super Lig title. Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman could also be in contention after another impressive season and a strong campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

Both players previously won the award in 2023 and 2024 respectively and Nigeria will be eager to see one of its stars return to the winners chart after missing out last year.

However, the Nigerian duo are expected to face serious competition from Moroccan stars Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz, who both enjoyed strong campaigns for club and country.

Diaz was named Player of the Tournament at the last AFCON, while Hakimi remains the current CAF Men’s Player of the Year holder and they are expected to be among the leading contenders once again when the awards ceremony takes place in Nigeria later this year.

Meanwhile, the upcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) could play a huge role in deciding the women’s categories. 

The Super Falcons will be aiming to defend the title they won after defeating Morocco 3-2 in the previous final and another successful campaign could see several Nigerian stars make the podium and potentially complete a clean sweep of the major awards for the country at the event.