CAF president rules out moving AFCON 2027 from East Africa

Speaking to reporters in Rabat on Sunday, Motsepe hailed the ongoing tournament in Morocco as a benchmark for future AFCON competitions, citing excellence both on and off the pitch.

"This has been the single most successful AFCON in the history of the competition," Motsepe said, as quoted by SuperSport.

"The quality of the football has been world-class, as has the quality of the stadiums and the infrastructure."

Morocco, which is preparing to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, could yet play host to another AFCON in 2028.

Motsepe revealed that several nations have already expressed interest in staging that edition, viewing it as a potential warm-up event ahead of the global showpiece.

Despite the praise for Morocco and growing competition to host future tournaments, Motsepe was adamant that the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will proceed in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as planned.

"I have had so many countries that want to host 2028," he said. "But the 2027 AFCON will go ahead in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. We are not going to take the competition away from these countries."

The three East African nations jointly hosted last year's African Nations Championship (CHAN), a tournament reserved for locally based players.

Although the event was delayed from January to August to allow more time for infrastructure upgrades, CAF believes valuable progress was made.

Motsepe stressed that CAF's responsibility extends beyond traditionally strong football nations, even when difficult decisions are required.

"Part of being a leader is to deal with difficult and unpleasant decisions," he said.

"I have a duty to develop football all over Africa. I can't have football only in countries with the best infrastructure."

He added that he remains confident the 2027 tournament will be a success, describing it as an important step in expanding the game across the continent.

The 2027 AFCON will be the first to be held in East Africa since Ethiopia hosted the tournament in 1976 and will also be the last edition before the competition shifts to a four-year cycle, having been staged every two years since its inception in 1957.