AFTER conducting a successful inspection of football infrastructure, the head of the CAF delegation Omar El Ghiati said they are convinced by the commitment by the governments of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda to jointly host the 2027 Africa Cup of the Nations (AFCON).
The three nations have already submitted a Pamoja Bid to stage the biggest national-level football showdown on the continent, which was the reason of for CAF experts to conduct the inspection tour in the countries.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam after appreciating several infrastructures as demanded by CAF, Ghiati said the team has been thrilled with the level of commitment shown by the three East African countries.
“The presence of the responsible minister for sports chairing this meeting shows how committed the government of Tanzania and all governments involved in Pamoja Bid are to take this application forward as there is seriousness in a zeal to host the AFCON in 2027.
“The new CAF administration since the election of its President, Patrice Motsepe, considers good governance and transparency as very important principles in the management of football in Africa.
“Development of football in Africa is the objective and mission of CAF, the process of appointing hosting countries for CAF competitions has now changed,” Ghiati said.
He continued: “As we have done in the 2025 AFCON, the process goes through the appointment of independent experts who inspect, evaluate and assess the infrastructure, competition stadiums, and training facilities of the proposed bidding countries.
“Thereafter, a report is submitted to CAF Executive Committee (EXCO) which makes decisions based on the available reports…so, the decision for AFCON 2025 is yet to be taken by the EXCO and later, we will have a decision for AFCON 2027,” he said.
In her opening remarks of the meeting with CAF officials, the Minister for Culture, Arts and Sports Pindi Chana insisted that the country is ready to host the AFCON finals in collaboration with Kenya and Uganda.
“I personally presented this agenda during a cabinet meeting that was chaired by President Samia Suluhu Hassan and also attended by the Vice-President, Phillip Mpango, and the Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, who in one voice agreed that we should continue pushing for a chance to host the finals,” she said.
On his part, Permanent Secretary for Culture, Arts and Sports Saidi Yakubu said the government has already signed a contract with the Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) for the sake of face-lifting Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
He said the renovation works will consume 31bn/- in order to make the venue meet CAF criteria and be suitable for hosting the AFCON finals.
According to him, some of the areas to be upgraded include dressing rooms, media centre, VVIP section, transforming all fans seats at the stadium, scoreboard, improving technology system, transforming the pitch and two sets of goals.
