A joint bid for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations has been launched by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, marking the first time the tournament could be held in East Africa. The African Football Confederation (CAF) confirmed on Thursday that it had received bids from the three countries, as well as from Algeria, Botswana, and Egypt.

In December, the Kenyan government gave its approval to a cabinet proposal to support a joint bid for the biennial tournament with two neighboring countries. The government stated that winning the bid would aid the national football team, Harambee Stars, in their ambition to qualify for the World Cup by 2030, a feat they have never achieved before.

The Kenyan Sports Minister, Ababu Namwamba, announced on Wednesday that he had engaged in talks with his Ugandan and Tanzanian counterparts, and they are planning to establish a collaborative bid and organizing committee for the event.

Speaking to reporters, Namwamba expressed confidence in the strong joint bid made by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania for hosting AFCON 2027. He stated that it is high time for the Africa Cup of Nations to be held in East Africa. It is worth noting that inadequate stadium infrastructure has been a challenge for several East African countries, leading to their national teams playing continental matches away from home.

On two occasions, Kenya has won the opportunity to host continental tournament finals: the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 and the African Nations Championships (CHAN) in 2018. Unfortunately, both times, they were stripped of the hosting rights because their stadiums were not approved at the international level. Namwamba assured that Kenya would either build new state-of-the-art stadiums or upgrade existing ones to meet international standards.

In September, CAF will announce the successful bid for hosting the AFCON tournament, along with the new location for the 2025 edition, as the original host, Guinea, was disqualified from holding the event in October last year.