Historic 2027 AFCON set for East Africa as dates for tournament confirmed

[p]After [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/morocco/IDKYO3R8/"]Morocco[/a] successfully hosted the 2025 edition, the 36th edition will now be jointly hosted in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kenya/CIAJw1QK/"]Kenya[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uganda/hnw06lwh/"]Uganda[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tanzania/KzAbFwJ7/"]Tanzania[/a], and is scheduled to take place from June 19 to July 18.[/p][p][b]This will mark the first time three East African nations will co-host the continent’s biggest football showpiece, and the first in five decades to be organised in the CECAFA region, since it was hosted by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ethiopia/4AGUPqC2/"]Ethiopia[/a] in 1976.[/b][/p][p]The edition will be part of the Africa Cup of Nations’ 70th anniversary, and will be the last one to be held in odd-numbered years, as CAF announced in December 2025 that AFCON would become a quadrennial tournament from 2028 onwards.[/p][h2]Hoima Stadium to host matches[/h2][p]Uganda Local Organising Committee (LOC) confirmed the dates which they confirmed have been approved by the Confederation of African Football.[/p][p][b]Dennis K. Mugimba, who serves as the chair of the AFCON local communications and signage committee, further confirmed Uganda will have two primary competition stadia - Mandela National Stadium (Namboole) in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District and Hoima City Stadium in Hoima City for the AFCON.[/b][/p][p]In Kenya, the proposed host cities are Nairobi, Eldoret and Kakamega. Tanzania is expected to host matches in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Dodoma and Zanzibar.[/p][embed guid="27874dc5-fa6b-45fd-95c8-42d45055f082" url="https://x.com/USPAmedia/status/2041413767703966096" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]The selection of these cities reflects an effort to balance existing football infrastructure with regional development objectives, as well as to ensure wider national representation across the three host countries.[/b][/p][p]The decision to announce the dates comes a week after the Kenyan government moved to meet key CAF deadline day requirements in regards to hosting the tournament.[/p][p]Kenya was facing a March 30 deadline to pay Ksh3.9 billion ($30 million) fee for hosting the 2027 AFCON, with CAF officials warning the rights could be lost, while partners Tanzania and Uganda had already paid the required fee.[/p][p][b]“I am pleased to announce the Government of Kenya has fully met its financial and institutional obligations to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as we steadily advance towards co-hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON),”[/b] said Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Sports Salim Mvurya.[/p][p]“In fulfilment of our commitments, the Government has remitted the requisite USD 30 million hosting fee to CAF, reaffirming Kenya’s credibility, readiness, and unwavering commitment to delivering a successful continental tournament.”[/p][h2]Uganda waive visa fees[/h2][p]Kenya further went ahead to reconstitute the Local Organising Committee (LOC), in what Mvurya confirmed as a new approach to ensure the institutional capacity is fully aligned with the scale, complexity, and urgency of preparations required to host a tournament of AFCON’s magnitude.[/p][p]The Ugandan government has committed to waive the requirement for visa fees for all and any visitors to Uganda for a period of at least three months starting with one month prior to kick-off of 2027 AFCON up to one month after the final match.[/p][p][b]Qualifying matches for the edition were held during the March FIFA international break with Burundi and Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea booking their places in the next round of the qualifiers.[/b][/p][p]The hosting of AFCON comes after Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania co-hosted the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in February 2025. In the final, Morocco beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/madagascar/88OzY9OB/"]Madagascar[/a] 3-2, claiming their third CHAN title in six years.[/p][image alt="Dennis Mabuka" id="009ee08a-c012-41bf-bdae-acba9770ea19" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="a2aa4451-e8b5-4e78-b7b8-2939152988ee" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]