Three countries join forces to organize "Cannes 2027"

The Confederation of African Football (CAF), the sports ministers of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the presidents of the member federations of the three countries, and the heads of the local organizing committees held a high-level meeting in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

This meeting comes to reaffirm the joint commitment of the three countries to successfully organize and host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, according to a statement issued by CAF.

The Acting Secretary-General of CAF praised the three host countries for the progress achieved so far, and reaffirmed the full commitment of the Confederation of African Football to the successful organization of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, stressing the importance of coordination in planning, timely implementation, discipline in achievement, and adopting a unified regional approach to organizing a successful continental tournament.

For their part, the three host countries reaffirmed their commitment to working closely with the African Union to organize a successful and memorable edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

A CAF statement said: “The three countries conducted a comprehensive review of the progress achieved, with a particular focus on infrastructure readiness, hospitality, safety and security, media and broadcast readiness, crowd and stakeholder mobility, governance and finance.”

The statement added: “With regard to infrastructure readiness, each country reviewed the progress made in projects to build, renovate, and modernize stadiums, training fields, transportation networks, airports, accommodation facilities, and related supporting infrastructure across the three host countries.”

He explained: “The ministers reaffirmed their governments’ commitment to ensuring that all facilities meet CAF requirements within the agreed upon deadlines, and adopted a road map to accelerate the pace of completion, specifying next August as a main point for assessing the level of readiness.

He continued: “The three countries have committed, with regard to hospitality and visitor experience, to work jointly to highlight East Africa as a welcoming and competitive destination capable of providing an exceptional experience to the masses.”

The union noted, “The focus was on hotel readiness, tourism, medical readiness, security coordination, transportation efficiency, and regional hospitality, which reflects the spirit of ‘Pamoja’.” The tournament has also been recognized as a catalyst for tourism, investment, trade and regional economic growth.”