AFCON 2027: Doubts grow over East Africa’s readiness

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which is due to be held in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, might be pushed to 2028. According to The Guardian, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is contemplating postponing the 2027 AFCON due to several factors.

Next year’s Africa Cup of Nations could be postponed until 2028 due to doubts over the readiness of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to host tournament in move that would see CAF scrap one edition of its showpiece competition. Story with ⁦@Romain_Molina⁩ https://t.co/yWYZXKEvW6

— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) February 11, 2026

The Guardian cited unnamed CAF Executive Committee members who raised major concerns over the ability of the host nations to stage a 24-team tournament across 10 cities in 2027. Ticketing and security problems during the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in August 2025 have also cast doubt over AFCON taking place in 2027.

The three host nations are still undergoing major stadium construction projects to stage the tournament. The qualification schedule has also raised concerns, with up to ten African teams participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the summer.

The CAF Executive Committee will meet this Friday in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, and the 2027 AFCON will be one of the pertinent issues to be discussed. Postponing the tournament by a year might be considered at the ExCo level.

If the tournament is pushed back by 12 months, the 2028 AFCON hosting rights would be off the table for countries like South Africa, Botswana, and Ethiopia. CAF has adopted a new schedule for AFCON, under which it will be staged every four years instead of every two years. CAF earlier today officially stated that it has sent a technical expert group to the three host nations ahead of the ExCo meeting on Friday.

The Guardian also reported that the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations host could change, with only a month left before kickoff. Morocco has indicated it will no longer stage the tournament, and South Africa is tipped to replace the North African nation. The Guardian added that CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation have not commented on this development thus far.