Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba on Wednesday confirmed the country’s intention of hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations days after the joint bid of Namibia and Botswana was terminated after the latter’s government failed to approve the budgeted bid cost according to the consulting company.Extending the Cabinet’s approved proposal on December 6 2022 to host the biennial continental championships, Namwamba reiterated that the country had received an acknowledgement from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in regards to their expression of interest to host the championships.Sports CS Ababu Namwamba: We’re bidding to host the AFCON 2027.#TheGreatKBC pic.twitter.com/XMQm36qeyU— KBC Channel1 News (@KBCChannel1) January 9, 2023 “We intend to bid to host the 2027 Afcon jointly with Tanzania and Uganda. I am glad to report that the process has already started,” CS Ababu Namwamba was quoted by Nation Sports on Wednesday afternoon. “We have held consultation between myself and my colleagues, the Minister of Sports in Tanzania and Uganda and we are putting together an EAC Bid to bring AFCON to East Africa.”As per the Cabinet Secretary, plans to involve the two East African countries had kicked on into gear with negotiations taking place between his Ugandan and Tanzanian counterparts; Peter Ongwang and Pindi Chana respectively on the matter.Namwamba, who was speaking before the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare on the day also reiterated that Kenya was just waiting on the official bidding documents from CAF having met the deadline to express interest that ended on April 20.CAF has set May 23 as the deadline to receive bids to host the 2027 Afcon.##NAJAVA_MECA_7208831##Having mulled about the idea of the three East African countries joining hands to bring the AFCON to EAC, the Kenyan cabinet in 2022, also proposed the idea as part of a major plan that will see the country achieve its dream of hosting the 2030 World Cup.“It is about time the Africa Cup of Nations comes to EAC,” Namwamba said. “The three countries will look at the budget and then agree to share the responsibility should their bid go through. Kenya is ready to host the Afcon.”History for Kenya as men’s team win Roll ball World CupKenya in the recent past has had two of their hosting rights for the 1996 AFCON and 2018 CHAN tournaments stripped due to lack of standard stadia and according to a CAF’s list of pre-approved stadiums for the 2022/23 inter-club football campaign that was released in August last year, Kenya, Burundi and South Sudan are the only EAC nations without at least one stadium cleared by the continental football governing body to host international matches.
