Nigeria set to miss out on major CAF Awards 2026 prize
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Trust
Nigeria is not expected to win any of the main trophies at the 2026 CAF Awards, held in Lagos on 7 December. This contrasts with previous ceremonies hosted by the country, when several Nigerian players won major honours, reports Daily Trust.
Nigeria has no player in the men’s and women’s categories for CAF Awards 2026 Player of the Year, even though the country will host the ceremony on 7 December in Lagos, reports Daily Trust. The final list released by the Confederation of African Football contains no Nigerian player for the two main individual awards.
Nigeria has only four nominations across the final lists for the 2026 CAF Awards. The country’s hopes now rest on the women’s national team and the individual categories reserved for young players, according to Daily Trust.
The newspaper recalls that Nigeria won several awards at previous ceremonies held on its territory, notably with Perpetua Nkwocha and Mikel Obi in 2005. Other Nigerian football figures, including Asisat Oshoala, Vincent Enyeama, Christian Chukwu, Stephen Keshi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Osimhen and Alex Iwobi, also featured among the winners at editions held in Nigeria.
The absence of Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman from the African nominations had already been reported on 4 November. Morocco represented in seven categories is among the countries strongly represented in the final lists for the 2026 CAF Awards.
