)
Only six countries had expressed interest to host the tournament which will be the 36th edition of the biennial African premier football tournament.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has received five bids books from eight countries for hosting the 2027 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
CAF’s Executive Committee announced the bidding process of the tournament on April 27, 2023, setting a deadline of May 23, 2023 for any interested Member Associations to submit their final bids, including all bidding and hosting documents.
Only six countries had expressed interest to host the tournament which will be the 36th edition of the biennial African premier football tournament.
These included a joint bid from East African neighbours Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, Algeria, Egypt and Botswana who were expected to be joined by neighbours Namibia.
The East African bid book called ‘Pamoja’ was presented to CAF on deadline day, and received by CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba in Cairo, Egypt.
Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda have never hosted AFCON, and are hoping that their bid for the 2027 tournament will be successful.
According to Kenya Football Federation president Nick Mwendwa, the bid is valued at USD 90 million [approx. UGX 335.7 billion], with all the three federations providing guarantees.
All three parties to the bid are understood to have agreed to provide $30 million each towards the project, with CAF advising that the money be deposited by January 2025.
With regards to the facilities included in the bid, Kenya included the iconic, 60,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), 30,000-seater Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.
Regards the training grounds, MISC Kasarani Annex, Police Sacco Stadium, Kenya Utalii College Sport Club, Ulinzi Sports Complex and Jamhuri Sports Complex were presented.
Uganda is said to have presented the Mandela National Stadium, Namboole as a possible venue, though it is unclear what the other potential venues and training grounds have been included.
Tanzania meanwhile has inked the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium – the only CAF certified stadium within the three stadiums.
The CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza, Chamazi Complex - home to Azam FC, and some venues in Dodoma, Arusha and Zanzibar are the other options Tanzania will look to touch up or invest in to meet standards.
To rival East Africa’s push to bring the AFCON to the East coast of Africa, Algeria who are also bidding to host the 2025 AFCON.
Algeria is among the top football nations on the continent, and could be ready to host any event by the snap of a finger given the wealth of facilities.
The North African nation hosted the 2023 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) and currently has five venues in four cities accredited by CAF.
Another Nort African nation Egypt have also presented themselves in the running for hosting the tournament. Egypt, who hosted the tournament in 2019, currently has six stadiums in three cities accredited by CAF.
Senegal became the fifth candidate to submit a hosting bid for the AFCON when the West African nation officially submitted its bid on Monday.
Senegal, the current AFCON Champions from 2021, last hosted the tournament in 1992 and had been considering a bid for hosting 2025.
Botswana was counting on neighbours Namibia to submit a joint bid termed ‘BONA 2027’, but the latter pulled out due to financial constraints.
Botswana though remains committed to hosting the tournament, with the coutry’s Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, saying hosting the AFCON will be a significant catalyst for Botswana's development.
Between June 1 and July 15, CAF will do inspection visits to the countries that would have submitted their bids. They would evaluate the state of football stadia, among other facilities.
On August 15, the Executive Committee of CAF will reveal the successful applicants together with the hosts for the 2025 AFCON.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)