CAF Confirms Start, End Months For AFCON 2027

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will take place as planned in June and July next year, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) president, Patrice Motsepe, has confirmed.

Motsepe dismissed circulating reports suggesting that the tournament, set to be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, might be postponed or relocated.

“Those reports are totally unfounded,” he said, speaking at a press conference in Dar es Salaam following a meeting of Caf’s executive committee.

Concerns have been raised about whether the East African hosts will have the necessary infrastructure ready in time.

Nicholas Musonye, chair of Kenya’s local organising committee, told AFP this week that a 2028 postponement “would be good for Kenya,” given the country will be preparing for a general election in August 2027.

Motsepe, however, expressed confidence in the hosts’ ability to deliver a successful tournament. “The Afcon next year in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda is going to be enormously successful,” he said.

“I am enormously confident. There are always challenges. We have to believe in ourselves as Africans and believe in our people. The quality of people we have who lead African football are world class.”

Officials from CAF will continue inspections of facilities and infrastructure across the three host nations until Tuesday.

Staging the tournament during the European club season has previously caused disputes over player release dates. Due to that, the organisation agreed to hold AFCON mid-year from 2019 onwards. However, the past three editions were played in the January-February and December-January windows.

From 2028, AFCON will be held every four years instead of every two.

Motsepe said that while the exact dates for AFCON 2027 will be announced in due course, plans are underway to eventually expand the tournament from 24 to 28 teams. He did not provide an update on the bidding process for the 2028 finals.

WAFCON 2026 to Remain in Morocco

In other news, Motsepe confirmed that the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), scheduled to start on 17 March, will remain in Morocco.

This follows earlier reports suggesting that South Africa might step in as host. “Some other countries said ‘Please can we host it?’ but they want to change the date,” Motsepe said. “We can’t change the date because it is a qualifier for the [2027] Women’s World Cup. The WAFCON continues and it will be successful. It has to take place within that window.”