CAIRO, Egypt — The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially invited its 54 member associations to submit bids to host the 2028, 2032, and 2036 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, opening the race to stage the continent’s biggest football tournament.
CAF announced the bidding process in a statement published on its website on Friday, stating that the framework was designed to ensure a transparent, credible, and ethical selection process in line with global best practices. The framework was developed with the support of independent expert adviser PwC, alongside CAF’s technical, financial, and external legal advisers.
The continental football body said the Africa Cup of Nations remains the biggest sporting event in Africa and one of the largest globally, attracting more than 3.2 billion television viewers and six billion digital views worldwide.
CAF did not disclose details on the bidding process for the three tournaments, including submission deadlines and technical requirements. It, however, said the framework establishes the criteria for evaluating and selecting the host country or countries for each edition of the tournament.
The invitation comes as Africa prepares for the next edition of the competition, with the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 set to be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda from June 19 to July 17, 2027. This will be the first AFCON to be hosted by three countries.
According to reports, Ethiopia, Morocco, and a joint bid by Botswana and South Africa submitted their expressions of interest before the February 2026 deadline, emerging as the first contenders to host the tournament. Morocco is reportedly interested in hosting 2028 as a final rehearsal before co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, while Egypt and South Africa are also considered potential candidates.
CAF further indicated that it will continue to stage a senior men’s national team competition every year except during FIFA World Cup years. The move comes as CAF announced that the flagship competition would now be held every four years starting from 2028.
As the bidding process unfolds, interested member associations are expected to submit detailed bid documents supported by formal government guarantees demonstrating their readiness to organise the tournament. The evaluation process will consider key requirements including stadium infrastructure, training facilities, accommodation capacity, transportation systems, security arrangements, and medical services.
