Abuja Glows for 2016 Players’ Awards

Excitement is gradually building up in the city of Abuja as the city prepares to host the biggest sports award ceremony spectacle in Africa at the 2016 Glo-CAF Awards which incidentally is the Silver Jubilee edition.

Following the announcement by the Confederation of African Football of the choice of Abuja as the host city in October this year, sponsor and organiser of the event, Globacom, has assured stakeholders that the company, in conjunction with CAF, will stage a memorable Awards gala in the FCT which is hosting the Awards for the third time since Glo took over the sponsorship in 2005.

In a press statement in Lagos yesterday, Globacom said that “the Glo-CAF Awards 2016 will parade top football celebrities as well as top government officials from Nigeria, the African continent and the rest of the world.”
Globacom stated further that the awards gala would also congregate African football legends, including the new African Footballer of the Year and winners in 12 other categories.

The categories include African Player of The Year (Based in Africa), National Team of The Year, Club of The Year, and Coach of The Year.

Other categories are Women’s National Team of The Year, Women’s Footballer of The Year, Most Promising Talent, Referee of The Year, Legend of The year, Fair Play Award, Platinum Award – Single nominee, and Africa Finest XI.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a winger with Borrussia Dortmund FC in Germany, is the current African champion, while Mbwana Ally Samatta of Tanzania is the African Player of the Year, Based in Africa.

The 2016 Gala event of the Glo-CAF Awards will be held on Thursday, January 5, 2017, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

The Confederation of African Football recently released the list of top 5 contenders for the 2016 African Footballer of the Year and five nominees for Africa Footballer of the Year (Africa-based).

Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, hosted the inaugural edition of Glo-CAF Awards in 2005 followed by Accra, Ghana, in 2006. Lome, Togo, hosted the 2007 edition, while the event was held in Lagos, Nigeria, for the first time in 2008 before it moved back to Accra in 2009. Cairo, the capital of Egypt hosted the 2010 edition.

The event was held back-to-back in Accra, Ghana between 2011 and 2012, while Lagos hosted the 2013 and 2014 editions. Abuja hosted the 2015 edition and will also host the 2016 edition, back to back.