CAF confirms dates for historic AFCON PAMOJA 2027 in East Africa

 


The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) has officially announced the kick-off and final dates for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) PAMOJA 2027, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The tournament will open on Saturday, 19 June 2027, while the final is scheduled for Saturday, 17 July 2027. The dates were approved by the FIFA Council during its recent meeting in Vancouver, Canada. CAF is expected to confirm the host nations for the opening match and final in due course.

AFCON PAMOJA 2027 will make history as the first edition of the tournament to be hosted by three countries, marking a major milestone for African football and offering a platform expected to reach more than 400 million people across East Africa.

Road to AFCON 2027

Following the completion of the preliminary round, attention now shifts to the official qualifiers draw, set for 19 May 2026. A total of 48 teams, including the three co-hosts, will compete for a place at the final tournament.

The qualifiers will be played across three FIFA international windows:

Matchdays 1 & 2: 21 September – 6 October 2026

Matchdays 3 & 4: 9 – 17 November 2026

Matchdays 5 & 6: 22 – 30 March 2027

The teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four, with the top two from each group securing qualification for the tournament.

AFCON PAMOJA 2027 also marks the return of the competition to East Africa for the first time since Ethiopia hosted the tournament in 1976.

The upcoming edition builds on the success of recent tournaments, including AFCON Morocco 2025 and AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023, which recorded strong commercial growth, increased sponsorship, and record-breaking global viewership—highlighting the rising global profile of African football.

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