AFCON 2027: CAF Boss Hints at Who Will Host Opening Match

Following confirmation that the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be staged next year as initially planned in East Africa, attention quickly shifted to how the matches will be distributed.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe made it clear that reports of moving the tournament to 2028 were “totally unfounded” and then dropped a hint at how the key matches will be distributed.

Discussions are being held behind the scenes on how the big games will be shared with the opening match and final being in high demand among the three co-hosts Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

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However, Motsepe seems to have let the cat out of the bag when he namechecked Tanzania as the country that will stage the opening ceremony and the tournament’s opener.

“The opening match is going to be here [in Tanzania],” Motsepe said while addressing the media after the CAF Executive Committee meeting in Dar es Salaam on Friday.

“Is that correct?” he asked, looking at Football Kenya Federation president Hussein Mohammed and his Ugandan counterpart Moses Magogo.

Upon realising that he had already given it away, Motsepe grins before saying: “They are still talking.”

He then turns to Tanzanian Football Federation boss Wallace Karia and says: “Wallace, I was saying the opening match is going to be here in Tanzania and they said; ‘president wait a bit.’ It could be in Kenya, Uganda, we will be guided by you guys.”

While it might appear to have been a slip of the tongue from Motsepe, it points to how the matches will be distributed, mirroring what was witnessed during the 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN 2024) that was staged by the three countries last year.

During CHAN 2024, Tanzania hosted the opening match, Uganda getting the third-place playoff while Kenya staged the final.

All countries also had group stage matches, including those involving their teams, as well as a quarter-final, one staged in Zanzibar, while Tanzania and Uganda got each of the two semi-finals.