By Spy Uganda
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are set to bid to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The three East African neighbours have submitted a joint expression of interest with the Confederation of African Football (Caf), the governing body that organises the biennial tournament.
Three other nations have also registered interest – Algeria, Botswana and Egypt.
Egypt hosted Afcon as recently as 2019, while earlier this year Algeria hosted the African Nations Championship (Chan) – the pan-continental tournament for locally-based players – meaning those two countries are unlikely to struggle when it comes to infrastructure requirements.
However, it is unclear how much investment will be needed to allow either Botswana’s or the joint East African bid to succeed.
Until last week, Botswana’s bid was also due to be a joint one, but Namibia dropped out at the last minute, citing financial concerns.
Kenya has just one stadium approved for international games by Caf, the Nyayo National Stadium in its capital Nairobi.
The country was stripped of the right to host the 2018 Chan just four months before the finals because several venues were not ready.
In December, the Kenyan government released a statement about its prospective 2027 bid revealing its cabinet had “sanctioned the revitalisation of football as a key cog of our nation’s social fabric” in a bid “to revive the prospects of Kenyan football”.
“This national effort will encompass the rebuilding of the national men’s team and women’s team,” the statement added.
The four bids now have until 23 May to submit final official plans before inspection visits in June and July.
Caf is yet to make a decision on who will host the 2025 Afcon, having stripped Guinea of the right in October due to insufficient preparation.
