The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee meeting scheduled for Friday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania has been overshadowed by talks of postponement of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals planned to take place in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Caf’s Head of TV and Communication, Luxolo September, has dismissed as “work of fiction” the reports suggesting that 2027 Afcon could be postponed due to “inadequate preparations by the three host nations, and difficulties in completing the tournaments’ qualifiers due to congested calendar.”
On September 27, 2023, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were named co-hosts of the 36th edition of Africa’s premier football tournament. The joint “East Africa Pamoja” bid by the three countries beat those from other countries.
Although Caf has yet to announce the exact dates for the 24-nation showpiece, it is expected to be held in June and July next year. In a statement on Monday, CAF said that the Executive Committee meeting in Dar es Salaam, to be chaired by its president Patrice Mostepe, “will deliberate on a number of matters.”
The continental football governing body added that the meeting is an important step in the journey of the three neighbouring East African countries to host the tournament.
“The Caf Exco in Tanzania will deliberate on a number of matters. It is also a significant milestone in the countdown to East Africa’s hosting of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda 2027 next year,” Caf said in the statement.
While Caf has not released the agenda of the meeting, discussions are expected to focus on the 2027 and 2028 Afcon finals, as well as the hosting of the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) finals.
With less than a year to go, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have intensified preparations to co-host the 2027 Afcon – a task now made more challenging by Morocco’s successful hosting of the 2025 tournament.
In Kenya, the 60,000-seater Talanta Sports City, which has been designated as one of the match venues is nearing completion while extensive renovations of the other venues earmarked for the tournament are expected to start this February.
The venues include Moi International Sports Center, Kasarani, which has also been earmarked as the other match venues and Nyayo National Stadium which has been designated as a training ground.
In Uganda, the construction of the 20,000-seater Hoima City Stadium is complete while in Tanzania, work on Arusha Stadium is underway. The two venues are among several that the countries are preparing for the tournament.
Ahead of the Friday’s Caf Executive Committee meeting, speculation has been rife about the possible postponement of the 2027 Afcon to 2028, with The Guardian attributing this to inadequate preparations by the three host nations, and difficulties in completing the tournaments’ qualifiers due to congested calendar.
However, Caf’s Luxolo September, has dismissed The Guardian’s story.
“You write fiction,” September posted on X in response to a post of the story by Ed Aarons, who is one of the co-others of the article.
Should the 2027 Afcon be postponed to the following year, the 2028 Afcon finals will most likely be scrapped since thereafter, the tournament will revert to a four-year cycle. The 2028 Afcon was originally planned for 2029.
Motsepe announced the changes in Afcon scheduling during a CAF Executive Committee meeting in December last year in Rabat, Morocco.
The changes would allow the first African Nations League to be held in 2029. Regarding the 2026 Wafcon finals, there has been confusion over the host of the tournament after South Africa’s deputy sports minister Peace Mabe said earlier this month that the country was ready to stage it.
Morocco is scheduled to host the tournament from March 17 to April 3, but some reports have indicated that the country is no longer interested in staging the tournament. Kenya is among the 16 counties that have qualified to play in the tournament.
Making only their second appearance in the competition after debuting in 2016, Kenya has been drawn in pool “A’ alongside Morocco, Algeria and Senegal.
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