Nigeria loses bid to host 2027 AFCON to East African trio
Nigeria’s joint bid with Benin Republic to host the 2027 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is unsuccessful, as the hosting rights have been awarded to Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The decision was made by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Council during their meeting in Cairo, Egypt.
This development means that Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will jointly host AFCON in 2027, marking the first time for all three countries to host this prestigious tournament.
In contrast, Nigeria has previously hosted AFCON in 1980, emerging as champions, and co-hosted the 2000 edition with Ghana, where they reached the final but lost to Cameroon in a penalty shootout.
Earlier during the same meeting, the CAF Executive Council announced that Morocco would host the 2025 AFCON, marking the second time Morocco has been selected as the host country, with their previous hosting taking place in 1988.
As for the upcoming AFCON editions, Côte d’Ivoire is set to host the 2023 tournament in 2024. This will be Côte d’Ivoire’s second time hosting, with their previous hosting occurring in 1984.
