Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have taken a major step toward hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations after officially receiving the AFCON hosting flag.
The symbolic moment took place in Rabat, Morocco, where CAF President Patrice Motsepe handed over the flag following the AFCON final between Senegal and Morocco.
In a statement on Sunday, January 18, FKF President Hussein Mohammed said the occasion represented a defining milestone for the entire East African region.
“Tonight marks a proud moment for our region as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania officially receive the flag to host AFCON 2027. East Africa is ready, and Kenya is looking forward to playing its part in delivering a tournament that will leave a lasting mark on African football,” he said.
Mohammed added that Kenya intends to build on the momentum and experience gained from successfully hosting the African Nations Championship.
“After setting new standards with the most successful CHAN in history, we are determined to raise the bar even higher in 2027. The journey begins now,” he added.
Elsewhere, Motsepe shot down the idea of having the tournament taken away from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania owing to supposed infrastructural challenges.
During a press conference on Sunday, a journalist expressed concerns of apparent unreadiness by the three East African countries to uphold the standards of the tournament.
He 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.
In response, Motsepe said such challenges are what define the existence of the federation, adding that 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.
Motsepe explained that it is the responsibility of CAF to develop soccer across the African continent, regardless of infrastructure privilege or lack of it.
He said 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 added.
Motsepe 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 stated.
