DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe has ruled out replacing Tanzania, Kenya or Uganda as hosts of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, delivering an emphatic vote of confidence in the East African co-hosts despite acknowledging areas where preparations are behind schedule.
Motsepe made the comments Thursday during a visit to Dar es Salaam, where he inspected tournament facilities, including Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, and met Tanzania Football Federation President Wallace Karia, Local Organizing Committee members and senior government officials.
With the 24-team tournament scheduled for June 19 to July 17, 2027, Motsepe rejected suggestions that CAF could turn to alternative hosts if preparations do not progress quickly enough.
Motsepe said he had been told weeks earlier that Tanzania would not be ready and CAF needed to consider alternatives, but dismissed that prospect, declaring that from CAF’s perspective, “there is no Plan B, there is no Plan C.”
“There never will be a Plan B, there never will be a Plan C,” Motsepe said.
His visit follows an eight-day CAF technical inspection across Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda that assessed stadiums, training grounds, hotels, airports and other infrastructure. Motsepe said a 21-person expert delegation had been involved in the assessment, while CAF personnel are permanently stationed in the host countries.
The CAF president acknowledged shortcomings remain, saying officials must identify “areas where we are falling behind” and accelerate work on infrastructure, stadiums, pitches and facilities for visiting dignitaries.
Motsepe said CAF would work with the three governments rather than consider moving the tournament.
“We’re going to work together, and those areas where we are falling behind, we’ll correct them, we’ll fix them,” he said.
Motsepe said reports presented to him during the Tanzania visit had strengthened his confidence in preparations, though some projects require faster progress.
“I’m even more confident after the extensive report I’ve received this morning,” he said.
Tanzania’s preparations include work at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, the new Samia Suluhu Stadium in Arusha and Fumba Stadium in Zanzibar, along with training grounds and supporting infrastructure.
CAF and government and football officials from the three countries established the PAMOJA Oversight Committee in May to coordinate preparations in areas including infrastructure, venues, security, transport and visas.
Motsepe, who was accompanied by CAF vice presidents Kurt Okraku and Feizal Sidat and acting General Secretary Samson Adamu, was due to continue to Kenya for meetings with President William Ruto and football officials. He said plans to visit Uganda had been affected by his schedule around the United Nations General Assembly.
The CAF president is expected to return to Tanzania in January for what he described as a final assessment before the tournament.
Beyond the construction deadlines, Motsepe said AFCON 2027 should deliver a lasting economic and infrastructure legacy for East Africa.
Citing an assessment by marketing and audience measurement company Nielsen, Motsepe said the previous AFCON in Morocco generated an estimated $1.8 billion in benefits for the country’s economy. He also cited CAF figures showing 3.2 billion viewers across television and other broadcast platforms and about 6.5 billion digital views and engagements.
For East Africa, he said, the objective is to ensure investments in stadiums, pitches, hotels, hospitals and transportation continue serving communities after the tournament.
“The AFCON for us is about also uniting our people, uniting East Africa,” Motsepe said, while promoting “economic development, economic growth, job creation, investment through football.”
For now, CAF’s message to the three co-hosts is clear. Work remains, deadlines are tightening, but replacing Tanzania, Kenya or Uganda is not under consideration.
