AFCON 2027: East Africa races to get tournament-ready

Nairobi, Kenya – With less than nine months until the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are entering the most demanding phase of preparations: completing and testing the stadiums, training grounds and supporting infrastructure needed to host the tournament.The tournament, scheduled for June 19 to July 17, 2027, will be the first Africa Cup of Nations jointly hosted by three countries and the competition’s return to East Africa since Ethiopia staged the finals in 1976.A Confederation of African Football (CAF) delegation spent eight days inspecting facilities across the three host countries earlier this month, assessing stadiums, training grounds, hotels, airports and other infrastructure. The delegation included officials responsible for competitions, safety and security, transport, media, television and logistics.Kenya: Talanta takes centre stageIn Kenya, the biggest project is the newly built Talanta Sports International Stadium in Nairobi.The 60,000-capacity stadium is intended to be the country’s flagship AFCON venue and was inspected by CAF earlier this month. During a subsequent visit, CAF President Patrice Motsepe said he was impressed by the pr...