2028 Africa Cup of Nations bids
The 2028 Africa Cup of Nations bids entails the bids for the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations.
Bids
Prior to the switch to every four years, these nations confirmed their bid to host between 2029 and 2035:[1]
- Angola – After speaking to the local media in 2023, the president of Angola João Lourenço stated he is preparing to bid for the event.[2] The country hosted the AFCON in 2010.
- Ethiopia – Despite not having any CAF approved stadiums, Minister of Culture and Sports, Kejela Merdasa, wants to build six stadiums in the country to order the host AFCON in 2029 or 2031.[3] Ethiopia hosted AFCON in 1962, 1968 and 1976.[4]
- Guinea & Mali — Both nations have different experiences in the past. Mali hosted the AFCON once in 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, they also hosted the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in 1995. Guinea on the other hand has never hosted the AFCON in the past, have tried to host it in 2025 but withdraw in 2022 due to preparation delays, but Guinea have hosted the U-17 level in 1999.
- Rwanda – Rwanda has never hosted an AFCON in the past, but has hosted U-20 level in 2009 and the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in 2011.
- Senegal — On 18 September 2024, The Director General of SOGIP (Société de Gestion des Infrastructures Publiques des pôles urbains de Diamniadio et du Lac Rose) confirmed that Senegal would officially submit its bid to host the 2029 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).[5][6] However, on 18 October 2024, Senegal withdrew, citing a lack of infrastructure for the tournament.[7] Talks about a possible joint bid with The Gambia and Guinea was mentioned, but never materialised. On 23 November 2025, their bid will go forward solo.
Previously interested in bidding
These bids who previously were interested of interested, but didn't make the shortlist:
- Democratic Republic of the Congo & Republic of the Congo – After their fourth-place performance in 2023, the president of the DR Congo stated he is preparing to bid for the event.[8] The capital of the DR Congo, Kinshasa, recently hosted the 2023 Francophone Games, but the nation has never hosted AFCON.[9] In December 2024, Minister of Sports of DRC announced that a joint bid between both Congos is being worked on.[10]
- Equatorial Guinea – During a visit from CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, The Equatorial Guinea government expressed their desire to bid for 2029 and 2031.[11] Equatorial Guinea have hosted AFCON twice, in 2012 with Gabon, and in 2015 by themselves after original hosts Morocco withdrew due to the Western African Ebola epidemic.
- Zambia (potentially with Botswana) – After nine failed attempts at winning a bidding process for the Africa Cup of Nations, including most recently for 2027, Zambia wants to bid for a tenth time. A possibility to co-host with Botswana has been mentioned.[12] Zambia has never hosted AFCON, but they were stripped of the 1988 edition due to financial reasons.[13]
References
- ^ "CAF DELAYS DECISION ON AFCON HOSTS FOR 2029–2035 AS BIDDING BATTLE HEATS UP". Afroba Top Sports. 23 November 2025.
- ^ "Patrice Motsepe encourages Angola to bid for AFCON 2029". SABC Sport. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
- ^ "Ethiopia Joins Bids to Host the 2029 Africa Cup of Nations - Ethio Negari". 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
- ^ "Football. Ethiopia Wants to Host AFCON 2029". Powers of Africa. 2024-07-03. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Dame Mbodj (DG Sogip) : « Le Sénégal est candidat à l'organisation de la CAN 2029 et la FSF doit porter ce plaidoyer »". 19 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ Sports, Pulse (2023-10-04). "Senegal prepare to bid for AFCON 2029". Pulse Sports Uganda. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Senegal withdraws bid to host 2029 Africa Cup of Nations - AfricaSoccer.com". 2024-10-18. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ "AFCON 2029: DR Congo moves towards a bid". Sport News Africa. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
- ^ III, Admin (2024-02-24). "DR Congo move to bid for AFCON 2029". Blueprint Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ Adedeji, Sampson (14 Dec 2024). "Congo, DRC Congo Set To Present Joint Bid For 2029 AFCON". bsn Sports. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
- ^ "Guinea Ecuatorial transmite al presidente de la CAF el deseo de albergar una de las ediciones de la CAN 2028 o 2030 - Huella Deportiva" (in Spanish). 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
- ^ "EYE 2029 AFCON BID – Daily Nation". Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ Malulu, Julius (2023-10-03). "Zambia plans to bid for the hosting of the 2029 AFCON". Bolanews. Retrieved 2024-03-30.