Kenya To Submit Bid To Co-Host The 2027 Africa Cup Of Nations After Global Football Ban

Kenya plans to submit a bid to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with other East African nations.

The proposal has received approval from the Kenyan government, with the ultimate goal of making history by becoming the first nation to qualify for the men's World Cup in 2030.

The Harambee Stars have participated in the Nations Cup just twice since 1993, and they were disqualified from qualifying for the 2023 finals since the was serving a global football ban at the time.

Fifa, the organization that governs the world, dropped the penalty last month.

To be able to host the competition, Kenya would need to make investments in infrastructure and stadiums.

Kenya only has one stadium (Nyayo National Stadium) that has been approved by the Confederation of African Football to hold international matches, compared to Cameroon's usage of six venues to host the delayed 2021 edition earlier this year (Caf).

According to a statement from the Kenyan government, in an effort to "revive the prospects of Kenyan football," the cabinet has "sanctioned the revitalisation of football as a fundamental element of our nation's social fabric."

“The national men's squad and women's team will both be rebuilt as part of this initiative on a national level,” the statement continued.

“The joint offer will use sports' ability to promote regional cooperation,” the Cabinet observed.

Potential co-hosts alongside Kenya for the 24-team tournament would be neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania, but neither has commented on the statement by the Kenyan government.

A combined bid for the Nations Cup in 2027 has already been made public by Botswana and Namibia.

A deadline of 16 December has been set for finalized bids, which must include all required paperwork, suggested host towns, and government assurances, to be delivered to Caf's Cairo headquarters.

The finals were initially given to Guinea, but the West African nation lost the right to host the event at the beginning of October due to a lack of facilities and infrastructure that were sufficiently sophisticated.

Guinea, which was initially selected to host the 2023 Nations Cup in 2014 but was later asked to host in 2025 instead, had almost a decade to prepare for the championships.

Last month Ivory Coast's government signed a formal hosting agreement with Caf for the 2023 Nations Cup, which will actually take place in early 2024.