The hope of Nigeria jointly hosting the 2027 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) along with Benin Republic was dashed, yesterday.
This follows the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to award the hosting rights to Eastern African nations, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, who all presented a joint bid for the continent’s flagship football tournament.
Nigeria, who last hosted AFCON in the year 2000 alongside Ghana, went into the poll with other potential hosts confident of securing the rights.
However, the Federal government delegation, led by the Minister for Sports Development, John Owan-Enoh, was left disappointed in Cairo, Egypt, when CAF revealed the winner of the coveted hosting rights.
CAF’s decision, many believe, is a wake-up call to Nigeria that a lot still needs to be done in terms of the provision of top-notch sporting facilities and general infrastructure as a whole.
But some football analysts were of the view that since Cameroun hosted the last edition in 2021, and Cote d’Ivoire is hosting the 2024 edition, as well as Morocco picked for the 2025 AFCON, the championship needs to move to east Africa in 2027.
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