The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will take place in June and July next year, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Patrice Motsepe has announced.
The South African said reports that the tournament, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, would be delayed or moved were “totally unfounded”.
Doubts have been raised over whether the necessary infrastructure in the three East African countries will be ready in time to stage the finals.
Meanwhile Nicholas Musonye, the chair of Kenya’s local organising committee, told AFP on Thursday that postponing the tournament until 2028 “would be good for Kenya” because the country will be gearing up for a general election in August 2027.
“The Afcon next year in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda is going to be enormously successful,” Motsepe 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.”
Motsepe was speaking at a news conference after a meeting of Caf’s executive committee in Dar es Salaam on Friday, and an inspection of facilities and infrastructure in the three host nations by officials from the continent’s governing body will run until Tuesday.
Caf made a commitment to host Afcon mid-year from 2019 onwards, but the past three editions have been played in a January-February or December-January slot.
Staging the tournament during the European club season has led to disputes over release dates for players, and Afcon will be held every four years – instead of biennially – from 2028.
The precise dates of the 2027 Afcon will be announced in due course, Motsepe added.
The Caf president did not give an update on bids to host the 2028 finals, but said he hoped to expand Afcon from 24 to 28 teams in the future.
Wafcon still set for Morocco
Elsewhere, Motsepe says Caf “still have an engagement” with Morocco to host the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), which is scheduled to kick off on 17 March.
Earlier this month South Africa’s deputy sports minister said her country would step in and stage the finals.
Her comments were later clarified by South African sports minister Gayton McKenzie, who stated that Morocco “remains the officially designated host” of Wafcon 2026.
“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.”
