An aerial view of a section of the Nairobi Expressway and the under-construction Talanta Sports City Stadium in Nairobi, which will be one of the venues of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
On Tuesday, local football fans breathed collective sigh of relief after Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya made a long overdue announcement that the government had remitted to the Confederation of African Football, the $30 million (Sh3.9 billion) hosting rights fee for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) had set Monday as the deadline for the payment of the hosting rights fee. Failure to pay the hosting rights fee can result in a country being stripped of the hosting rights of the tournament. Kenya will co-host the 36th edition of the tournament with Uganda and Tanzania. Uganda and Tanzania had already paid the fee well before deadline.The 2027 Afcon has been scheduled for June and July next year
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya at a past event.
“In fulfilment of our commitments, the government has remitted the requisite $30 million hosting fee to CAF, reaffirming Kenya’s credibility, readiness, and unwavering commitment to delivering a successful continental tournament,” the CS added. But why are countries required to pay hosting rights fees for CAF tournaments, and what exactly is the money used for? And in the event that a country is tripped of the hosting rights after making the payment, is the fee refundable?
For the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan), which was also co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in August 2025, each of the three countries paid Sh1.6 billion in hosting rights fee.
Research on all editions of Afcon held in 2010 and earlier show no evidence of countries paying hosting rights fee. Online reports suggest that the policy emerged gradually from 2019, and was fully institutionalised in the current Afcon cycle.
Speaking to Nation Sport on Wednesday, sports lawyer and CAF’s Legal Committee Member Charles Njenga said that the introduction of Afcon hosting rights fee was informed by complaints from participants over substandard services by the host federations in terms of taking care of the tournament’s logistics.
He explained that previously, it was the responsibility of the host federation to plan for all the tournament’s logistics, including paying for accommodation, meals, transport, security and match-day events for all teams.
Logistical issues
According to Njenga, who is also the chairman of Githurai AllStars Football Club, teams complained of being booked in substandard hotels, experiencing disorganised transport in the host city, among other logistical issues.
Under the new system, the host nation pays the hosting rights fee to CAF, which then takes charge of organising all the tournament's logistics.
“The hosting rights fee is meant to secure the stability of the tournament, for example, so that some teams are not locked out of the hotel because the host federation has not paid for it,” Njenga explained.
“When CAF has that money, it assures every team that when they go into the host country, everything that they require will be paid for by them (CAF) to avoid a situation where the host does not provide that service, which ends up prejudicing the tournament or any of the participants,” he added.
The hosting rights fee also covers the cost of air tickets for participating teams to the hosting country, their security, expenses, and allowances for CAF officials.
Njenga explained that any remaining balance of the hosting rights fees after the tournament is returned to the host nation although he noted that it is unlikely that there will be any surplus. In cases where a country loses the hosting rights after making payment, the fee is refunded.
“Of course if you are stripped of the rights to host the money is returned. Probably lesser management fees or some administration fees,” the lawyer noted.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya (left) Chairperson of 2027 Afcon LOC Nicholas Musonye, Vice chairperson of 2027 Afcon LOC Hussein Mohammed and Head of secretariat of 2027 Afcon LOC Anthony Lung'aho
He added that there are proposals at CAF to change the rules to have countries deposit the hosting rights fees during the bidding process to avoid late payment as was the case with Kenya. But he cautioned that this arrangement alongside the high hosting rights fees will make countries struggling financially to refrain from bidding to host the CAF tournament. “The disadvantage of this arrangement is that it is making the hosting of these events a bit expensive,” Njenga stated.
“Countries are now shying away from even bidding because it is becoming a bit expensive. Probably that explains why almost 70 per cent of CAF events have been hosted by countries with stable economies,” he added.
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