The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has fixed the calendar for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), setting the stage for a landmark tournament to be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
“The opening match will be played on Saturday, 19 June 2027, and the final on Saturday, 17 July 2027,” CAF disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday.
The governing body said the schedule received approval from the FIFA Council during its recent meeting in Vancouver, Canada. CAF added that the venue for both the opening match and the final will be confirmed at a later date.
The 2027 competition will break new ground as the first AFCON staged across three countries. CAF believes that joint hosting presents an opportunity to expand the tournament’s footprint to more than 400 million people across the East African region.
Attention now turns to qualification. CAF confirmed that the preliminary round has been completed, while the draw for the qualifiers will take place on 19 May 2026.
A total of 48 teams, including the three co-host nations, will enter the qualification campaign. The draw will determine the pathway to the finals.
“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,” the governing body stated.
The teams will be split into 12 groups of four, with the top two from each group booking their place at the finals.
The tournament’s return to East Africa carries historic weight. It will be the first time the region hosts AFCON since Ethiopia staged the event in 1976.
CAF said the 2027 edition will build on the momentum of recent tournaments in Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire, both of which delivered strong growth in commercial revenue, sponsorship, and global broadcast audiences.
