2027 Africa Cup of Nations

2027 Africa Cup of Nations

Kombe la Mataifa ya Afrika 2027
Tournament details
Host countries	Kenya Tanzania Uganda
Dates	June – July
Teams	24
Venue	12 (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.

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

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations bids

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:

• Botswana and Zambia
• Nigeria and Benin – Also bid for the 2025 edition
• Senegal
• Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda (selected)

Qualification

Qualified teams

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

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]

Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	Appearance(s)				Previous best performance [a]	WR
			Total	First	Last	Streak
Kenya	Co-hosts	27 September 2023	7th	1972	2019	1	Group stage (1972, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2004, 2019)	TBD
Tanzania			5th	1980	2025	3	Group stage (1980, 2019, 2023)	TBD
Uganda			9th	1962		2	Runners-up (1978)	TBD

Venues

290km
180miles

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

   

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

City	Stadium	Capacity
Dar es Salaam	Benjamin Mkapa Stadium	60,000
Arusha	Samia Suluhu Hassan Stadium (New)	30,000
Dodoma	Dodoma Stadium (New)	32,000
Zanzibar	Amaan Stadium	15,000
Nairobi	Talanta Sports Stadium (New)	60,000
	Moi International Sports Centre	55,000
	Nyayo National Stadium	30,000
Kakamega	Bukhungu Stadium	25,000
Eldoret	Kipchoge Keino Stadium	15,000 [5]
Hoima	Hoima Sports Stadium (New)	20,000
Lira	Akii Bua Stadium (New)	20,000
Kampala	Mandela National Stadium	60,000

Notes

1. Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.

See also

• 2024 African Nations Championship
• Football in Kenya
• Football in Tanzania
• Football in Uganda

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. Orevba, Babajide (18 November 2025). "CAF Announces New Format for AFCON Qualifiers As Super Eagles Fail to Qualify for World Cup - Legit.ng". www.legit.ng. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
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.

External links

• Official website