CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe has clarified that no final decision has been made on which nation will host the official opening match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations while leaving open the possibility of coordinated opening-day festivities across all three host nations.
Speaking at the Talanta Stadium press conference room, Motsepe addressed the ongoing deliberations surrounding the tournament’s inaugural fixture.
“The host country for the opening match has not yet been decided,” Motsepe declared. “All three host countries have submitted interesting proposals. We are still discussing, and a decision will be made soon.”
He emphasized that CAF leadership is evaluating operational frameworks to ensure that sports fans in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Kampala all experience the festive atmosphere of day one.
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Addressing how three host nations can share the opening spotlight, Motsepe drew a direct comparison to other multi-host global tournaments.
“We could have three opening ceremonies, similar to what will happen at the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico,” Motsepe explained, noting that each co-host deserves a celebration to mark the historic event.
In a lighter moment during the discussions on host nation rivalry, Motsepe jokingly suggested a unique way to settle the opener debate.
“Maybe Kenya and Tanzania should play a friendly match to decide who gets the opening game,” drawing laughter from the room as he highlighted the warm brotherhood and friendly rivalry between the co-hosts.
Beyond the decision on the opening fixture, a 21-member CAF technical team has been conducting thorough inspections of regional infrastructure, including match venues, training facilities, and transport networks.
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Motsepe firmly put to rest any speculation regarding potential venue reassignments, reiterating that “there is no plan B, there is no plan C” for East Africa.
While expressing confidence in the joint local organizing committees, he stressed that project managers must maintain momentum, noting,
“We’re going to work together and those areas where we are falling behind we’ll correct them, we’ll fix them,” while highlighting the urgency of completing all ongoing construction and renovation works on schedule ahead of CAF’s upcoming Executive Committee review.
CAF has handed Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania a strict deadline of January 2027 to complete all stadium construction, pitch installations, and infrastructure upgrades.
This timeline gives the local organizing committees six full months prior to the tournament kickoff to conduct test events, run trial matches, and fine-tune operational readiness across all host cities.
