The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament will be held as previously planned in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
On Friday, CAF president Patrice Motsepe dismissed speculation that the 36th edition of Africa’s premier national football team tournament would be postponed to 2028. He also allayed fears that the 24-nation showpiece planned for June and July next year would be affected by General Election in Kenya scheduled for August 2027.
Ahead of Friday’s CAF Executive Committee meeting held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, speculation was rife that the 2027 Afcon would be deferred by a year, due to the inability of the three host nations to prepare in good time, and difficulty in completing the tournaments’ qualifiers, thanks to a congested calendar.
Speaking to the media in Dar es Salaam, Motsepe termed the allegations “totally unfounded.”
Although the CAF president admitted that the three nations could face big challenges in preparing for the tournament, he reiterated that the 36th Afcon edition would be hugely successful.
“I am enormously confident that we will succeed. Will there be challenges? Yes, there are always challenges. Let me repeat that there will be information in the media over the next few months that this stadium is not ready, the grass is not ready, or there are not enough hotels. We will fix those challenges. We are going to have a celebration,” Motsepe stated. He said the exact dates of the tournament would be announced soon.
Regarding fears that the event would be affected by General Election in Kenya in August, Motsepe said: “We will be done by then. You will know by then how wonderful you will have performed.”
Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were announced co-hosts of the 2027 Afcon on September 27, 2023. The joint “East Africa Pamoja” bid beat those from Botswana, Egypt and Algeria, who withdrew shortly before the vote.
With just about 17 months remaining before start of 2027 Afcon, the three countries have intensified preparations for the showpiece, a task made more challenging by Morocco’s successful hosting of the 2025 edition.
In Kenya, the 60,000-seater Talanta Sports City, which has been designated as one of the match venues, is nearing completion while extensive renovations of the other venues earmarked for the tournament are expected to start this February. They include Moi International Sports Center, Kasarani, which has also been earmarked as the other match venues, and Nyayo National Stadium, which has been designated as a training ground.
In a previous interview with Nation Sport, Nicholas Musonye, the chairman of Kenya’s Local Organising Committee (LOC) for 2027 Afcon, said they have set November as the deadline to have all Kenya’s venues ready. In Uganda, the construction of the 20,000-seater Hoima City Stadium is complete while in Tanzania, work on Arusha Stadium is underway. These are among the venues that the countries are preparing for the tournament.
Yesterday, Motsepe heaped praise on Kenya’s President William Ruto, as well as his Tanzanian and Uganda counterparts Samia Suluhu and Yoweri Museveni respectively for the efforts they have made to ensure that the tournament is a success.
“It is that sought of commitment (by the three presidents) that gives me a huge amount of confidence that we are going to succeed,” the businessman said. Reiterating CAF’s full support to the three countries in co-hosting a successful Afcon, Motsepe said experts from the continental football governing body will pitch camp in the region several months to the tournament to offer advice and expertise.
Asked about what he would like the 2027 Afcon to be remembered for, Motsepe stated: “For us is the quality of the football. Look at Afcon Morocco and Cote d’Ivoire. The quality of African football is just consistently improving, that is why we increased the prize money of the winners of Afcon by 50 percent.”
On Friday, Motsepe hinted at expanding the tournament to 28 teams although he did not say exactly when that would be done.
Terming the chaos witnessed in the final of the 2025 Afcon between Senegal and Morocco on January 18 as “blemish” on the tournament, Motsepe warned against a repeat.
The championship game was marred by a Senegalese walkout following protest over a penalty kick awarded to Morocco during the extra time. The game was delayed for 16 minutes. Senegal was angered by the cancellation of its goal late in regulation time. Senegal were crowned champions thanks to a 1-0 win courtesy of Pape Gueye ‘s 94th minute striker.
“It will never happen again. It is a blemish on the outstanding Afcon that we had,” said Motsepe, adding that Caf’s Exco had resolved to uphold the “integrity, credibility and impartiality of CAF referees, VAR operators and match commissioners”. After the 2028 Afcon, the tournament will revert to a four-year cycle with the next edition taking place in 2032.
