Wikipedia

2027 Africa Cup of Nations bids

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations bids entails the bids for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The winners were Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Bidding timeline

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A decision on the host was originally supposed to be made at the CAF summit in either late 2022 or early 2023.

On 27 April 2023, the CAF Executive Committee announced the bidding process of the tournament.[1] The bidding timeline is as follows:

  • 23 May 2023: Deadline for Member Associations to submit their final bid, including all bidding and hosting documents (hosting agreement, host cities agreement, government guarantees, etc.), which should be signed.
  • 1 June-15 July 2023: Inspection visits
  • 27 September 2023: Appointment of Host Country/Countries by the CAF Executive Committee

Bids

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Text in bold indicates a winning bid.

Initially a joint bid with Namibia, but on 19 April 2022, Namibia pulled out after the national government failed to approve on a budget.[2] After that, Botswana entered as a solo bid,[1] before joining up with Zambia just before the vote after Zambia withdrew from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations bidding process.[3][4][5] Botswana supposedly spent 61 million Pula in order to receive the hosting rights.[6]

When CAF announced the 2027 bids, Egypt was included.[1] Had they won, it would've been only eight years after they hosted the 2019 edition.[7][8]

After originally wanting 2025,[9] Nigeria and Benin decided to put in a late bid for 2027. Shortly before the vote, the House Committee on Sports in the Federal House of Representatives informed the Nigeria Football Federation that they need to withdraw.[10][11] Some media outlets said Nigeria and Benin's bid was the favourite to win,[12][13] while others were saying they would receive the 2029 Africa Cup of Nations hosting rights.[14]

Despite not being on the list of bidding countries, Senegal was allowed to bid.[1] The bidders learnt about their inclusion in the bidding process on the 3 May 2023[15] After Algeria withdrew, the Senegalese bid was considered as the favourite to win.[16][14]

Having initially started as a Tanzania and Uganda bid, due to Kenya's suspension from FIFA,[17] Kenya joined the bid after their FIFA suspension was lifted, with the Kenyan government approving the bid proposal on 6 December 2022.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] After a stampede in Tanzania killed 1 and injured 30, doubts were raised about the bid's ability to host the event.[26] The three countries were banking on their commercial viability rather than their results on the pitch to win the bid and to bring the tournament to East Africa after 51 years.[27]

Withdrawn bids

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Also bid for the 2025 edition. On 26 September 2023, Algeria announced their withdrawal of both 2025 and 2027 bids.[1][28] There reasons were that they wanted to revitalise Algerian Football and also thought that the bidding process was biased towards Morocco for 2025. However, to avoid a fine from CAF, they still submitted their files to CAF for evaluation.[29]

After Namibia withdrew, Botswana were unsure about continuing their bid after Namibia withdrew from the joint-bid.[30][31] In the end, Botswana's name was on the list of bidding countries.[1] The president of the Botswana Football Association, Maclean Letshwiti, stated that he was still confident that Botswana could still win.[32] On the 24 May, the Botswana filed their bid book, earmarking proposed facitlities in Gaborone, Maun and Kasane.[33] On the 16 June, Gabane and Lobatse were confirmed as part of the bid.[34] But shortly before the vote, they merged their bid with Zambia, who at the same time, withdrew from the 2025 bidding process.

  •   Botswana and   Namibia (BONA 2027)
  • Botswana was the first country to express an interest in hosting this edition, stating their intent to bid in October 2021.[35][36][1]
  • On the 21 January 2022, during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Botswana sent a letter to the Namibia Football Association to see if they were willing to join their bid.[37]
  • Then, on the 18 March 2022, the Namibian Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Peya Mushelenga, approved their part of the bid.
  • Afterwards, on the 4 May 2022, CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, met Botswana's Minister of Sport, Gender, Youth and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, as well as officials from the Botswana Football Association to discuss the bid.
  • On 10 June 2022, both countries signed a memorandum of agreement for hosting the tournament. Nicknamed BONA 2027, Botswana would take 60% of the responsibility of the hosting, while Namibia would take the remaining 40%. Also, in regards to stadiums, Botswana would bring 4 stadiums and Namibia would have 2.[38][39][40][41]
  • In December 2022, The government of Botswana allocated, 1.1 billion Pula for the tournament.[42]
  • In March 2023, Both countries considered bringing in a third country in the bid, with Zambia being the likely option.[43]
  • But then suddenly, on the 20 April 2023, a week before the deadline for Member Associations to submit their final bid, Namibia withdrew. They stated that Namibia could not fulfill the financial requirements for their portion of the bid.[2][44][45][46] Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) member, Maximilliant Katjimune was very critical of the decision to withdraw, accusing the government of embarrassing the country by withdrawing from the joint bid.

The proposed venues were as follows:[45]

  Botswana

Gaborone
Maun
Francistown

  Namibia

Windhoek
Swakopmund
Oshakati

Burkina Faso was rumoured to bid for 2027,[36] but were not included on the list of bidding nations.[1]

After a meeting with CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, spoke with the government of Sierra Leone to about potentially hosting AFCON.[47]

Zambia was rumoured to bid for 2027,[36] but were not included on the list of bidding nations.[1] Although, they would join up with Botswana for a joint bid shortly before the vote for 2027.

Host announcement

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On the 27 September 2023, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda was announced as the hosts of the tournament.[48] Of the 15 voters, the East African bid reportedly received 11 votes.[49]

Controversy

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Sports Minister of Botswana, Tumiso Rakgare, was adamant that their bid book was the best and felt cheated out winning the hosting rights.[50] Authorities in Botswana felt also disliked the fact that they didn't publicised the voting results.[51] In response, CAF stated that their bidding process was transparent.[52]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "CAF receives declaration of interest from six countries for the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 hosting". cafonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Namibia pulls out of joint bid to host Afcon 2027 with Botswana". supersport.com. Supersport. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  3. ^ Chikenge, Calvin Kaumba (2023-09-27). "Zambia and Botswana submit joint bid to host 2027 AFCON". Bolanews. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  4. ^ Chikenge, Calvin Kaumba (27 September 2023). "Zambia and Botswana submit joint bid to host 2027 AFCON". Bolanews.
  5. ^ "Botswana and Zambia Unite in Joint Bid to Host 2027 (AFCON)". 28 September 2023.
  6. ^ https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/football/story/afcon-2027-the-hundreds-of-millions-botswana-splashed-on-bid-book-but-lost-to-kenya-uganda-and-tanzania-2023100211234346190
  7. ^ ElMogy, Salma (April 27, 2023). "OFFICIAL: Egypt bid to host 2027 Africa Cup of Nations".
  8. ^ "Algeria, Egypt among 4 bids to host 2027 African Cup". AP News. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  9. ^ "AFCON 2025: CAF to name new host In 2023". Blueprint Newspapers Nigeria. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  10. ^ I, Content Administrator (September 27, 2023). "Withdraw Nigeria's bid to host AFCON 2027, NASS tells NFF".
  11. ^ Ngobua, David; Olusola, Jide (September 28, 2023). "Morocco/Nigeria: Why Nigeria Lost 2025 Afcon Bid to Morocco" – via AllAfrica.
  12. ^ Erons, Imhons (September 26, 2023). "Nigeria/Benin surge past Senegal, Egypt, Botswana in bid for 2027 AFCON hosting rights - Soccernet NG".
  13. ^ "Nigeria, Benin joint bid leads race for 2027 AFCON | The Nation Newspaper". Head Topics. September 27, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "CAF to award AFCON 2025 rights to Morocco, Senegal for 2027, Nigeria-Benin to co-host 2029 - Reports". GhanaWeb. 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  15. ^ "Senegal enters race to host CAN 2027". The Africa Report.com.
  16. ^ "Algeria withdraws before Afcon host decision" – via www.bbc.com.
  17. ^ Mosoti, Stephen (2023-05-17). "Kenya Uganda Tanzania Post Bid to Host AFCON 2027". iGaming Afrika. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  18. ^ https://www.president.go.ke/kenya-uganda-and-tanzania-bid-to-host-africa-cup-of-nations/
  19. ^ "Cabinet approves Kenya's bid to host 2027 Cup of Nations". Nation. December 6, 2022.
  20. ^ "Kenya Joins Tanzania-Uganda AFCON 2027 Bid". VOA. April 27, 2023.
  21. ^ "Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda launch joint bid to host African Cup of Nations". RFI. April 27, 2023.
  22. ^ Busari, Niyi. "AFCON 2027: Kenya, Uganda And Tanzania To Submit Joint Bid". AFCON 2027: Kenya, Uganda And Tanzania To Submit Joint Bid.
  23. ^ "Kenya launches bid to co-host Nations Cup in 2027" – via www.bbc.com.
  24. ^ "Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda mount joint Afcon bid" – via www.bbc.com.
  25. ^ "EDITORIAL: Kenya qualifying for World Cup long shot but sweet dream". The Star.
  26. ^ "Stadium stampede leaves 1 dead, 30 injured in Tanzania". The Star.
  27. ^ "Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda : East Africa promises bankable bid to host AFCON 2027". Africa Intelligence. September 26, 2023.
  28. ^ "CANs TOTALENERGIES 2025 ET 2027 : L'ALGÉRIE RETIRE OFFICIELLEMENT SES DOSSIERS DE CANDIDATURE". FAF (in French). 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  29. ^ @HyzrSport.com (September 27, 2023). "تأكيدا لانفراد HYZR SPORT يوم أمس ☑️ #الجزائر تتراجع عن قرار سحب ملفي ترشيحها لتنظيم كأس الأمم الأفريقية 2025 و 2027 ، وذلك تفاديا لعقوبات الإتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم . في انتظار الاعلان الرسمي عن البلدان الفائزة بتنظيم النسختين بعد قليل ... ⏳" [Confirmation of HYZR SPORT's uniqueness yesterday ☑️ #Algeria retracts its decision to withdraw its candidacy files to organize the 2025 and 2027 African Cup of Nations, in order to avoid sanctions from the Confederation of African Football. Waiting for the official announcement of the winning countries to organize the two editions shortly... ⏳] (Tweet) (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-09-30 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "Botswana unsure on Afcon bid after Namibia drop out" – via www.bbc.com.
  31. ^ "Namibia's AFCON27 hosting snub leaves Botswana in lurch". The Africa Report.com.
  32. ^ "Botswana confident of landing 2027 Africa Cup Of Nations bid | soccer". SABC. May 20, 2023.
  33. ^ https://x.com/AfricaFactsZone/status/1671193264223911943
  34. ^ Dube, Mqondisi (June 17, 2023). "Gabane picked for 2027 AFCON". Mmegi Online.
  35. ^ "GOVERNMENT HOPES TO HOST AFCON 2027 | Botswana National Sport Commission". www.bnsc.co.bw.
  36. ^ a b c "LIST OF COUNTRIES THAT WANT TO HOST AFCON 2027 GROWING." The Patriot On Sunday. 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  37. ^ Dube, Chakalisa (January 22, 2022). "Botswana, Namibia consider joint AFCON bid". Mmegi Online.
  38. ^ "BOTSWANA AND NAMIBIA SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT FOR HOSTING AFCON 2027". June 10, 2022.
  39. ^ "Botswana, Namibia join forces to bring AFCON back to Southern Africa".
  40. ^ "Botswana and Namibia plan joint bid for AFCON 2027". May 10, 2022.
  41. ^ "Botswana-Namibia 2027 AFCON bid takes shape". SuperSport.
  42. ^ Kolantsho, Mqondisi Dube,Calistus (December 3, 2022). "Gov't budgets P1.1bn for AFCON bid". Mmegi Online.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  43. ^ "BONA '27 Bid Team Considers Roping in Third Country". March 9, 2023.
  44. ^ "Namibia withdraws from joint hosting of 2027 AFCON due to financial constraints". Sinar Daily. April 20, 2023.
  45. ^ a b "Namibia pulls out". April 23, 2023.
  46. ^ "Financial Woes Force Namibia to Back Out of 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Hosting". Namibia Daily News. April 26, 2023.
  47. ^ "Sierra Leone Government Eyes Bid For AFCON 2027". May 10, 2021.
  48. ^ "Tanzania, Uganda & Kenya to host 2027 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations". CAF. September 27, 2023.
  49. ^ https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/football/story/three-reasons-why-caf-accepted-the-east-africa-pamoja-afcon-2027-bid-2023092814062864870
  50. ^ https://www.thegazette.news/sport/rakgare-decries-regressive-voting-process-in-botswanas-afcon-2027-bid-loss/
  51. ^ https://www.mmegi.bw/sports/our-bid-process-is-transparent-caf/news
  52. ^ https://www.mmegi.bw/sports/our-bid-process-is-transparent-caf/news
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