Officials of the Lagos State Sports Commission, the Nigeria Football Federation and the Confederation of African Football during the inspection of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, Iganmu, Lagos, ahead of this year’s CAF Awards. Photo: Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said that the state is ready to host this year’s CAF Awards after a five-man team from the Confederation of African Football inspected the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, popularly known as the National Theatre, the designated venue for the ceremony.
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.
The CAF team arrived in Nigeria last Thursday for an inspection of facilities being put forward by the country to host the organisation’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly and annual CAF Awards ceremony.
The team is led by former NFF presidential aspirant and CAF’s Head of Safety and Security, Dr Christian Emeruwa. The delegation 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, as they inspected the National Theatre on Monday.
Sanwo-Olu said the state was committed to ensuring that Lagos delivers a successful event.
“We guided them through the venue and gathered their feedback. Hosting an event of this scale means every single detail counts and our team is working hard behind the scenes to make sure we get it right,” the governor said in an X post on Monday.
“Lagos is ready and we look forward to putting 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 will host the CAF General Assembly on November 21, 2026, Lagos will take centre stage for 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.
