CAF Questions 2027 AFCON Hosts' Readiness

The Confederation of African Football has started looking at backup plans for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. This comes as worries grow about whether Kenya and Uganda can get ready to host the tournament with Tanzania.

These three East African nations are set to co-host the 36th edition of the tournament from June 19 to July 17, 2027. But worries over stadium building, hotels, and other logistics have made CAF think about other options.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that CAF has reached out to Morocco, South Africa, and Algeria as possible backup hosts if the East African nations cannot meet the deadlines. Ivory Coast and Egypt are also said to be potential alternatives.

CAF president Patrice Motsepe has said there is still no change to the hosting plan. He knows a lot of work still needs to be done.

After visiting the three host countries, Motsepe told reporters that CAF is not looking at “either a Plan B or a Plan C.” The governing body plans to carry out more inspections in the coming months. This will help them decide if Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania can host the tournament.

CAF has a history of moving the Africa Cup of Nations to other countries when the original hosts fall behind. The 2013 tournament moved from Libya to South Africa. The 2015 edition changed from Morocco to Equatorial Guinea.

In 2017, the tournament moved from Libya to Gabon. Cameroon also lost its chance to host the 2019 tournament, which went to Egypt due to delays. Guinea was replaced by Morocco as the host for the 2025 edition.

This 2027 AFCON will be the first time the tournament returns to the CECAFA region since Ethiopia hosted it in 1976.

With less than a year until the kickoff, the next round of CAF inspections will be key. They will determine if the three East African nations can still host the tournament.