It is, by now,old news that for the first time in fifty one years, the African Cup of Nations will be held in the CECAFA region. A joint bid by Uganda,Kenya and Tanzania, dubbed PAMOJA was announced as the winner of the rights to host the 2027 edition of the premier competition for African men’s national football teams, beating out competition from the likes of Botswana, Senegal and Egypt, and returning the tournament to the Eastern part of the continent for the first time since Ethiopia hosted the 1976 edition.
The reaction to this news has been decidedly varied, ranging from joy and excitement in quarters like FUFA House, the Mengo headquarters of Uganda’s football federation, to pessimism tinged with more than a hint of derision regarding the three countries’ capacity to host such a major event in the streets, both in real life and on social media.
X,formerly known as Twitter,in particular, has been a hotbed of hilarious memes, as Ugandans and Kenyans poked fun at their countries’ respective facilities. But social media fun is simply a medium through which serious topics in real life are discussed and this is a serious topic indeed. With four years to go, there is a lot of concern that facilities,which in this case is really just shorthand for stadia, will not be constructed, developed and completed in time for the three countries to successfully host the tournament.
The situation is most dire in Uganda, which doesn’t have a single stadium certified by CAF, African football’s governing body, and has had to play a series of home National team fixtures in environs such as Morroco and Tunisia because of ongoing construction works at the Mandela National Stadium Namboole, the one guaranteed Ugandan stadium in the PAMOJA bid.
Kenya, meanwhile presented the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi and the Moi International Sports Center Kasarani as the two guaranteed stadia for hosting matches, with Eldoret’s Kipchoge Keino stadium as option number three, though all are still currently undergoing rehabilitation aimed at making them meet CAF standards. It should be remembered that Kenya won the bid to host the 1996 AFCON, before then failing to complete venues on time and ultimately being stripped of the rights.
The consensus is that Tanzania is the only one relatively adequately prepared to host the tournament, given that it is in possession of a CAF approved stadium; Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium. The plan there is to upgrade Chamazi Complex and the CCM Kirumba Stadium to the grade required by CAF.
CAF requires the host nation of the AFCON to have at least six stadia for hosting the 24 nations that qualify for the finals. In addition to that, each stadium must be near an airport,level five hospital and a five star hotel,as well as three training grounds that meet CAF standards.As things stand,the victorious PAMOJA bid has just one approved stadium, with the hope being that the next four years provide ample time for the remaining five stadiums to be completed and brought up to standard.
All the above is a marker of the work the federations of the three countries still have to put in so that the tournament can go from being just a dream and become a reality. In fact,the more accurate narrative should be that the real work has only just began as if the three countries fail to meet certain deadlines set by the governing body, they risk having the rights withdrawn and granted to a readier country such as Algeria or Senegal, as was the case when Morocco took over 2025’s rights from Guinea after the later failed to overcome challenges with preparing infrastructure and facilities.
This alarming set of affairs doesn’t stop at the organisational and institutional level, but is visible to see even on the pitch. Tanzania is once again ahead in this regard, having been the region’s sole qualifier for AFCON 2023, slated for next year,pipping Uganda to second spot in Group F. Kenya didn’t even get that far, being disqualified in May 2022 following the suspension of the Kenya Football Federation by FIFA on grounds of political interference.
But even Tanzania, although apparently in a healthier position than it’s neighbours, will have to prove that it is now the premier nation in CECAFA, having previously failed to translate the moderate success of its traditional big clubs Simba and Yanga in continental club competition to the national stage. Their appearance at AFCON 2024 will be just their third in history, although it will be the second in the last three editions, having also qualified for the 2019 tourney.
There is no doubting that they have the most momentum amongst their cohosts,and they will be seeking to build on it over the next four years. As for Kenya and Uganda, the moment of reckoning is here. Now is the time to showcase the competence required to set up the necessary infrastructure, while also working hard to improve their fortunes on the playing surface, in order to avert the ignominy of posting historically dismal performances as hosts.
There is plenty of doubt around this tournament, but there was plenty of doubt about whether the PAMOJA bid would be awarded the chance to welcome the rest of the continent as AFCON guests in the first place. Now that the first hurdle has been jumped,it is upon the countries’ federations to prove the doubters wrong again by walking the talk and preparing a memorable and successful tournament.
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