Lagos Ready to Host CAF Awards as Inspection Begins

(Officials of the Lagos State Sports Commission. Photo by News Express)

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has assured that the state is ready to host this year’s CAF Awards, following an inspection by a five-man team from the Confederation of African Football at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, popularly known as the National Theatre, which has been designated as the venue for the ceremony.

The CAF team arrived in Nigeria last Thursday to inspect facilities being put forward by the country to host the organisation’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly and annual CAF Awards ceremony.

The delegation, led by former NFF presidential aspirant and CAF’s Head of Safety and Security, Dr Christian Emeruwa, also includes Mohammed Bakeer (Technology), Inas Ahmed (Travel and Accommodation), Salah Mostafa (Transport), and Hervé Dassoundo (Branding).

They were received by officials of the Lagos State Sports Commission, led by Director-General Lekan Fatodu, during the inspection of the National Theatre on Monday.

Sanwo-Olu said the state remained committed to ensuring a successful event, noting in a post on social media on Monday that the team had guided the CAF delegation through the venue and gathered their feedback, stressing that hosting an event of this scale requires attention to every detail and that his team was working hard behind the scenes to get things right.

He expressed confidence that Lagos was ready to put on a brilliant show for African football.

Nigeria has previously hosted the CAF Awards on four occasions, with Lagos staging the most recent edition in January 2015.

While Abuja is set to host the CAF General Assembly on 21 November, 2026, Lagos will play host to the ceremony honouring the best players and other outstanding performers in African football.

The CAF delegation had earlier inspected facilities at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Friday, before visiting the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, the designated venue for the Congress, and the Transcorp Hilton Hotel on Saturday.

The CAF team is being accompanied on the inspection tour by a five-man NFF delegation comprising Dr Ademola Olajire, Director of Media and Communications; Alizor Chuks, Director of Marketing; Barnabas Joro, Head of Security; Emmanuel Ayanbunmi, Chief Protocol Officer; and Tasiu Riskuwa Shehu, Head of ICT.

Two months ago, at the Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, President Bola Tinubu approved Nigeria’s hosting of the two major CAF events, following a request by CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe.