THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) would kick off on June 19 and end on July 17, 2027.
The tournament will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
In a statement on Saturday, CAF said, “The opening match will be played on Saturday, 19 June 2027, and the final on Saturday, 17 July 2027.”
It added that the dates were approved by the FIFA Council at its recent meeting in Vancouver, Canada, noting that the host country for both the opening match and final would be announced later.
CAF said the tournament would be the first AFCON to be staged by three countries, describing it as an opportunity to expand the competition’s reach to over 400 million people across the East African region.
On the qualification process, the body said the preliminary round had been concluded, with the draw for the qualifiers scheduled for May 19, 2026.
A total of 48 teams, including the three co-hosts, will take part in the qualifiers, which will be played across three FIFA international windows.
“The qualifiers will be played across the three FIFA International Windows. Matchdays 1 and 2: 21 September to 6 October 2026. Matchdays 3 and 4: 9 to 17 November 2026; Matchdays 5 and 6: 22 to 30 March 2027,” CAF stated.
According to the body, the teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four, with the top two from each group qualifying for the tournament.
The 2027 edition will mark the return of the competition to East Africa for the first time since Ethiopia hosted it in 1976.
CAF added that the tournament would build on the success of recent editions, including Côte d’Ivoire 2023 and Morocco 2025, which recorded growth in sponsorship, commercial revenue and global broadcast audiences.
The ICIR reported that Senegal emerged the last AFCON champions after defeating Morocco in the final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, in Rabat, marking one of the most significant eras in African football history.
Papa Gueye secured the first position of the tournament for the West African nation in a most dramatic of circumstances at 94th minute of extra time with a goal, after Brahim Diaz missed the controversial penalty awarded to Morocco, which delayed the match by about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, CAF’s appeals board stripped the country of the title and awarded it to Morocco, ruling that Senegal had forfeited the final by walking off the pitch in protest at a contentious late penalty.
Meanwhile, the Senegalese Football Federation vowed to challenge the controversial decision.
In a communiqué on Tuesday night, March 17, the Senegalese Football Federation confirmed it had received CAF’s March 17, 2026, ruling concerning the disputed final between Senegal and Morocco.
The ICIR reports that the Appeals Board of CAF ruled in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF), declaring their appeal admissible and setting aside an earlier decision by CAF’s Disciplinary Board.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.