AFCON 2027 set for June kickoff as East Africa hosts tournament
By Tosin Omojola
The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will kick off on Saturday, June 19, 2027, with the final scheduled for Saturday, July 17, 2027.
The dates were confirmed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and recently ratified by the FIFA Council during its meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
The tournament, tagged “AFCON PAMOJA 2027,” will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
While the competition window has been set, CAF noted that the specific venues for the opening ceremony, closing ceremony, and final match will be announced in due course.
With the preliminary rounds already concluded, preparations for the tournament will intensify with the qualifiers’ draw scheduled for May 19, 2026.
A total of 48 teams, including the three host nations, will be drawn into 12 groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the tournament.
The qualification fixtures will be played across three FIFA international windows: Matchdays 1 and 2 from September 21 to October 6, 2026; Matchdays 3 and 4 from November 9 to November 17, 2026; and Matchdays 5 and 6 from March 22 to March 30, 2027.
The 2027 edition marks a significant milestone for African football, as it will be the first time the tournament is hosted by three countries. It also signals the return of AFCON to the East African region for the first time since Ethiopia hosted the competition in 1976.
