2027 Africa Cup of Nations

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2027 Africa Cup of Nations
  • Kombe la Mataifa ya Afrika 2027
Tournament details
Host countriesKenya
Tanzania
Uganda
DatesJune – July
Teams24
Venue12 (in 10 host cities)
← 2025
2029 →

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations , also referred to as AFCON 2027 or CAN 2027, will be the 36th edition of the biennial African football tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It will be hosted by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania in June and July 2027.

Contents

This edition of the tournament will be the first ever to be hosted by three countries, and also the first in 5 decades to be organized in the CECAFA region, since it was hosted by Ethiopia in 1976.This event is also part of the Africa Cup of Nations 70th Anniversary.

Host selection

On 7 April 2023, CAF decided to choose the host nations for the 2025 and 2027 editions of the tournament on the same day. [1] On 27 September the same year, CAF announced that the 2027 edition will be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. [2]

Bids

The bids were as follows:

Qualification

Qualified teams

The following teams have qualified for this edition of the tournament. The qualifiers are scheduled to be held between March and November 2026, beginning with the group stage (March–October 2026) followed by the play-off round (November 2026). The official draw for the qualification stage will take place on 19 December 2025, at 19:00 local time (GMT+1) in Rabat, Morocco.

A total of 13 groups, each comprising either three or four teams depending on the number of participating associations, will contest the group stage. The 13 group winners and the three best runners-up will qualify directly for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, joining the three host nations Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The remaining runners-up will advance to a two-legged play-off round to determine the final qualified teams.

Qualifying matches will be played during FIFA international windows in March 2026 (matchdays 1–2), September/October 2026 (matchdays 3–6), and November 2026 (play-off round). The draw will be broadcast live on CAF’s official digital platforms and through its broadcast partners. [3]

TeamMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Finals
appearance		Last
appearance		Previous best
performance		 FIFA ranking
at start of event
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Co-hosts27 September 20237th 2019 Group stage (1972, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2004, 2019)
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 5th 2025 Group stage (1980, 2019, 2023)
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 9th 2025 Runners-up (1978)

    Venues

    2027 Africa Cup of Nations
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    290km
    180miles
    10
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    9
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    8
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    7
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    6
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    5
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    4
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    3
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    2
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    Location of the host cities of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations
    • Kenya
    •  1  Eldoret
    •  2  Kakamega
    •  3  Nairobi
    •  
    •  
    • Tanzania
    •  4  Arusha
    •  5  Dar es Salaam
    •  6  Dodoma
    •  7  Zanzibar
    •  
    • Uganda
    •  8  Hoima
    •  9  Kampala
    •  10  Lira

    Since the competition will be held in 3 countries, it was reported that each country would provide 3 stadiums for a total of 9. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda each initially proposed two cities for the tournament. [4] However, the tournament will likely be hosted in 10 cities overall. The cities are; Nairobi, Eldoret and Kakamega in Kenya as well as Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Dodoma and Zanzibar in Tanzania and also in Kampala, Lira and Hoima in Uganda.

    List of candidate host cities
    CityStadiumCapacity
    Flag of Tanzania.svg Dar es Salaam Benjamin Mkapa Stadium 60,000
    Flag of Tanzania.svg Arusha Samia Suluhu Hassan Stadium (New)30,000
    Flag of Tanzania.svg Dodoma Dodoma Stadium (New)32,000
    Flag of Tanzania.svg Zanzibar Amaan Stadium 15,000
    Flag of Kenya.svg Nairobi Talanta Sports Stadium (New)60,000
    Moi International Sports Centre 55,000
    Nyayo National Stadium 30,000
    Flag of Kenya.svg Kakamega Bukhungu Stadium 25,000
    Flag of Kenya.svg Eldoret Kipchoge Keino Stadium 15,000 [5]
    Flag of Uganda.svg Hoima Hoima Sports Stadium (New)20,000
    Flag of Uganda.svg Lira Akii Bua Stadium (New)20,000
    Flag of Uganda.svg Kampala Mandela National Stadium 60,000

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ "CAF Executive Committee unanimously supports Morocco's FIFA World Cup 2030 bid". CAFOnline.com . 6 April 2023.
    2. ↑ "Tanzania, Uganda & Kenya to host 2027 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations". CAFOnline.com . 27 September 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
    3. ↑ “AshFooty0609 (@AshFooty0609) „1980281212011745424“, X, 20 Oct 2025, https://x.com/AshFooty0609/status/1980281212011745424.
    4. ↑ Gachinga, Silvester (19 October 2023). "AFCON 2027 stadiums: All venues in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania" . Retrieved 19 October 2023.
    5. ↑ "The Hansard" (PDF). 13th Parliament of Kenya. 25 September 2024. p. 11.
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