Editor's Review

A concern had been raised about the state of infrastructure in the three countries.

The 2027 Confederation of African Football (AFCON) tournament to be hosted in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will go on as planned.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe shot down the idea of having the continental tournament taken away from the three countries owing to supposed infrastructural challenges.

During a press conference called in Morocco ahead of the 2025 AFCON finals late Sunday, January 18, a journalist expressed concerns of apparent unreadiness by the three East African countries to uphold the standards of the tournament.

He, for instance, argued that there are no proper road networks for easy movement across the three countries.

The journalist pressed a challenge to Motsepe, asking whether the tournament would be taken to a more prepared host.

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The CAF president said such challenges are what define the existence of the federation.

He said he would lead CAF in taking on such unpleasant challenges in the mission to develop football across the continent.

"I think part of being a leader is to deal with difficult, unpleasant decisions which we have to take, which are right and good for football. But it's more important that we've got to explain them," he said.

CAF president Patrice Motsepe.

Motsepe explained that it is the responsibility of CAF to develop soccer across the African continent, regardless of infrastructure privilege or lack of it.

According to him, taking high-level soccer competitions to places deemed as underprivileged markets the sport and inspires the countries to invest in sporting facilities and infrastructure.

"I have a duty to develop football all over Africa. I can't have competitions only in those countries where you've got the infrastructure. You've got to create opportunities for the other countries to build infrastructure at the World Cup level that we want them to and develop football in those countries as well," he said.

He suggested that CAF was satisfied by how Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda hosted the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) despite not having adequately prepared.

According to him, the tournament was a wake-up call to the countries and has inspired them to adequately prepare for the tournament.

He expressed confidence that the 2027 AFCON will be successful, appreciating that challenges are commonplace and are witnessed in such enormous competitions as FIFA World Cup.

"I'm confident that the AFCON in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda will be enormously successful. Will there be challenges? It's like the World Cup in Qatar. We are going now to Canada, America, and Mexico.

There are going to be challenges. But, and that's why I was insisting that the CHAN takes place in those countries,even though they were not ready. Because I was convinced that it would help us to make sure that we've got a successful AFCON next year. But we are not going to take that competition away from those countries because I'm confident it's going to be successful," he said.

It was in September 2023 when Kenya secured the rights to co-host the tournament together with Tanzania and Uganda.

The three East African nations presented a unified “Pamoja” bid for Africa’s premier football tournament, outshining rival proposals from Senegal, Egypt, and Botswana.

Motsepe announced the victory following a CAF Executive Committee meeting held in Cairo, Egypt.

As part of its submission, Kenya pledged to upgrade Kasarani Stadium and Nyayo Stadium to meet the international standards required for the competition, as well as construct the futuristic 60,000-seater Talanta Stadium.