The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals face challenges, Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe said on Wednesday, but he predicted the tournament, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, will be an “enormous success.”
Motsepe did not specify the challenges he was referring to. Stadium construction in Kenya has drawn concern over the past several years, with government officials saying in May that the new 60,000-seat Talanta Sports City stadium in Nairobi and renovations to the 48,000-capacity Moi International Sports Centre were on track.
Confidence amid scrutiny
“We have to have confidence in our people despite the challenges,” Motsepe told a press conference in Johannesburg, adding that setbacks would be met with renewed effort rather than abandonment of the project.
“The Cup of Nations in East Africa will be an enormous success,” he said, while acknowledging some difficulties remained. He added that he was proud of the work being done by the heads of state of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The comments extend a pattern of public reassurance from Motsepe over the past year, during which reports questioning the three nations’ readiness, including doubts over stadium completion timelines and transport links between host cities, have periodically surfaced. Motsepe has previously dismissed suggestions the tournament could be postponed to 2028 as unfounded.
Format and future editions
The tournament will be held in 2027 and again in 2028, after which the continental championship will shift to a four-year cycle rather than the biennial schedule that has been in place since the competition’s inception in 1957.
Motsepe said bids for the 2028, 2032 and 2036 editions of the Cup of Nations had been opened and that CAF had received “exciting bids,” though he did not elaborate on which countries or confederations were involved.
The 2027 finals are scheduled to run from June 19 to July 17, though CAF has yet to announce which cities will host the tournament’s opening match and final. Qualifying for the 24-team field begins in September and is due to conclude by March.
Background on East Africa’s hosting bid
The 2027 tournament, referred to by organizers as “Pamoja 2027,” will be the first Cup of Nations co-hosted by three countries and the first tournament held in the CECAFA region since Ethiopia hosted the competition in 1976. Alongside the Kenyan venues, Tanzania’s Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam and Uganda’s Mandela National Stadium in Kampala have featured prominently in planning for the tournament, with additional venues under construction or renovation across the three countries.
CAF officials have conducted multiple rounds of facility inspections in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda over the past year, part of what the confederation has described as an ongoing effort to ensure preparations meet its hosting standards.
