Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania Under Pressure as AFCON 2027 Postponement Looms

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) could be delayed until 2028 due to significant doubts over the readiness of host nations Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

This potential move, which would effectively cancel one edition of the continent's premier football tournament, is set to be a key topic of discussion for the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

According to the Guardian, sources indicate that CAF's executive committee will address the proposal during a meeting in Dar es Salaam on Friday.

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Also on the agenda is the potential withdrawal of Morocco as the host for next month's Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

Last December, CAF President Patrice Motsepe announced a shift for AFCON to a four-year cycle starting in 2028.

He confirmed the 2027 tournament for the East African trio of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, with the subsequent edition brought forward from 2029 to 2028.

However, there is now a growing belief that the 2027 event will be pushed back by a year. Executive committee sources have raised major concerns about the infrastructure in the three host nations and their capacity to manage a 24-team tournament spread across ten cities.

These worries are compounded by previous challenges, including ticketing and security issues, that arose during the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) held in the same countries last August.

Additionally, scheduling the qualification rounds has become complicated, particularly with the potential for up to ten African teams participating in this summer's World Cup. CAF has not yet commented on these issues.

A postponement would mean the tournament originally planned for 2028, which had attracted interest from Ethiopia and a joint bid from South Africa and Botswana, would be scrapped.

This would clear the way for CAF to launch its inaugural African Nations League in 2029, a competition intended to become a primary revenue source, replacing the biennial AFCON and CHAN tournaments.

Despite the mounting concerns, Motsepe expressed confidence last month that the 2027 tournament would proceed as planned.

"I have a duty to develop football all over Africa," he stated. "I can’t have competitions only in those four countries where you’ve got the infrastructure. You’ve got to create opportunities for the other countries to build infrastructure as well. I’m confident that the AFCON in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda will be enormously successful."