AFCON 2027: CAF Boss Patrice Motsepe Cools Fears Over Delays in East Africa

Amid fears that East Africa might not be ready to stage a successful 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe is keeping hope alive.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are in a race against time to have stadiums and training venues ready on time while other things like transport links between the three host nations as well as accommodation arrangements are also yet to be addressed.

There are concerns that the region might not be ready in time after CAF officials flagged a number of delayed projects while some are complete but not meeting the standards. With another round of inspection set for August, it is not certain if CAF will give a not so positive report again as that would raise further questions.

However, Motsepe, who has maintained that East Africa fully deserves the chance to host the tournament, remains confident that the three governments will put their best foot forward and deliver a successful tournament.

"Are there areas where there's room for improvement? Absolutely," Motsepe told BBC. “But the commitment, the support from President Ruto (of Kenya), from Madam [President] Samia [Suluhu Hassan] in Tanzania, from President Museveni (of Uganda) is enormous."

"We've got people from CAF who are permanently based in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and they are everyday working on the preparations and making sure that the AFCON which is going to take place in June 2027 is going to be successful," he added.

Among the three countries, Kenya is building a new stadium, Talanta Sports City, expected to be ready by the end of June, while Kasarani Stadium, the second venue for AFCON 2027, is undergoing renovation with a new pitch projected to be in place by July.

Tanzania is also still constructing the Samia Suluhu Stadium in Arusha while Uganda’s Mandela and Hoima City Stadiums have deficiencies that need correcting before the August inspection.

After that, attention will shift to other things supporting the tournament such as accommodation, transport in and out of the three countries with one of the main headaches being the movement of fans to match venues amid fears of traffic snarl-ups.