CAF Boss Patrice Motsepe Dismisses Doubts Over Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania Hosting AFCON 2027

Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe has dismissed concerns over East Africa's readiness to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, expressing full confidence in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to deliver a successful tournament.

Speaking to reporters in Rabat ahead of the AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal, Motsepe acknowledged that Morocco's hosting of the current tournament has set a new standard.

"This has been the single most successful AFCON in the history of the competition," he stated. "The quality of the football has been world-class, as has the quality of the stadiums and the infrastructure."

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Morocco, which is preparing to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal, is also a potential candidate to stage the 2028 AFCON as a test run for the global event. Motsepe noted significant interest from other nations as well, saying he has had "so many countries that want to host 2028."

Despite this, the CAF president was firm in his commitment to the planned 2027 edition. "I am confident that the AFCON in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will be enormously successful," Motsepe declared. "We are not going to take the competition away from these countries."

The three nations jointly hosted last year's African Nations Championship (CHAN), a competition for domestic league players, which was postponed to August to allow more time for facility preparations. However, Motsepe emphasised his responsibility to foster the sport across the continent.

"Part of being a leader is to deal with difficult and unpleasant decisions which we have to take," the South African explained. "I have a duty to develop football all over Africa, I can't have football only in those countries with the best infrastructure."

The 2027 tournament will mark the first time AFCON has been held in the region since Ethiopia hosted in 1976. It will also precede a significant change in the competition's schedule, which will move to a four-year cycle after being held biennially since 1957.

Patrice Motsepe, who announced the controversial scheduling change just before the tournament in Morocco, insisted the decision was not a result of pressure from European clubs or FIFA.

"We have to free ourselves as Africans and not think whenever we take a decision it is because FIFA says this or Europe says this," he said, while also acknowledging that "there are times when you have to make concessions."