CAF confirms the dates of the 2027 African Cup of Nations

The Confederation of African Football has officially announced that the 2027 African Cup of Nations will take place from June 19 to July 17, 2027.

The schedule was approved by the FIFA Council during its recent meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda; All East African nations will host this edition of the tournament.

It is the first time that the African Cup of Nations will be held in three countries.

The 2027 tournament will also mark a return to the East African region for the first time since Ethiopia hosted the competition in 1976.

However, CAF is yet to confirm the venues for the opening match and the final.

The qualification journey is already underway, with the first round completed. Attention now focuses on the draw for the second round, scheduled for May 19, 2026.

A total of 48 teams will compete in this phase, divided into 12 groups of four teams each.

The two best teams in each group will ensure qualification for the final phase. The qualifiers will be played in three FIFA international windows.

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Matchdays one and two are scheduled from September 21 to October 6, 2026. Matchdays three and four will be held from November 9 to 17, 2026.

The last round of matches, the fifth and sixth rounds, will be played from March 22 to 30, 2027.

Nigeria will be looking to win the tournament for the first time since their triumph in 2013.

The team has shown steady progress in recent editions, finishing as runners-up in 2023 and securing third place in 2025.