Nairobi: The Confederation of African Football announced on Saturday the dates for the kick-off and the final of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), to be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The opening fixture will be played on Saturday, June 19, 2027, while the final will take place on Saturday, July 17, 2027. CAF stated on its official website that the host country for these two matches will be announced in due course.

According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, this edition will be the first in the competition’s history to be jointly hosted by three countries and is expected to reach more than 400 million people in East Africa. Regarding the qualifiers, the draw is scheduled for May 19, 2026, following the preliminary round. A total of 48 teams, including the three co-hosting countries, will take part.

The qualifiers will take place over six matchdays spread across three FIFA international windows: September 21-October 6, 2026; November 9-17, 2026; and March 22-30, 2027. The 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups of four teams, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the final tournament.

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will also mark the competition’s return to East Africa for the first time since 1976, when Ethiopia hosted the tournament. This edition builds on the success of previous competitions, notably the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in C´te d’Ivoire and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, which delivered record commercial performance, growth in partnerships, and a sharp increase in global viewership, illustrating the growing popularity of African football, CAF concludes.