CAF announced the kick-off and final dates for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 and Patrice Motsepe, speaking for the confederation, said preparations were on track: "shirye-shirye na tafiya yadda ake bukata."
The tournament will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, with the opening match scheduled for Saturday, 19 June 2027 and the final set for Saturday, 17 July 2027 — dates the FIFA Council recently approved at its meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
CAF also confirmed the mechanics of the qualifying phase: a total of 48 teams, including the three co-hosts, will participate in the qualifiers. Those teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four teams each on 19 May 2026, and the top two teams in each group will qualify for the final tournament.
The numbers underline what CAF called a scale-up: it will be the first AFCON hosted by three countries and the first time the tournament returns to the East African region since Ethiopia hosted in 1976. CAF says the PAMOJA 2027 competition offers an opportunity to reach more than 400 million people in East Africa.
Motsepe, who addressed reporters as CAF confirmed the calendar, added: "yana mai nuna kwarin gwiwar cewa gasar za ta yi nasara." The combination of a multi-nation host, nearly month-long competition and a broadened qualifying field is the central proof CAF is betting on wider regional engagement.
But key logistical decisions remain pending. CAF will announce in due course which of the three co-hosts will stage the opening match and which will stage the final — a detail that will shape venue preparations, transport and security planning across borders.
The draw for the qualifiers on 19 May 2026 becomes the immediate deadline for teams and national associations. With 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four, the pathway to the finals is clear on paper: the top two teams in each group advance. On the ground, national federations will now have to align schedules, training camps and travel plans to a fixed calendar that runs from the June kick-off to the July final.
This AFCON is being sold as a regional project as much as a sporting event. Hosting across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda brings the tournament back to an East African audience for the first time since 1976 and expands the footprint CAF says can reach more than 400 million people. That scale is the argument for tri-nation hosting but also the source of the tournament’s biggest practical question: who will host the opening match and the final, and how quickly can those stadia and host cities be readied to meet tournament standards?
The most consequential unanswered question is precisely that: which co-host will be entrusted with the ceremonies that frame the competition. CAF has set the calendar and the qualifying draw; it has not yet assigned the marquee fixtures. Whoever is chosen will inherit the immediate pressure to convert the approved dates into stands full of fans, secure transit between venues, and the broadcast and commercial arrangements that turn a fixed schedule into a successful tournament.
