AFCON: Moving Toward 28 Teams?

T he President of the Confede­ ration of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, held a press conference on July 22, 2026, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Se­ veral important remarks and an­ nouncements were made during the event. AFCON 2027 The CAF President spoke about the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanza­ nia, and Uganda. It emerged that good progress is being made in pre­ parations for the competition. Dr Patrice Motsepe said the tourna­ ment in East Africa will be a major success, and he expressed pride in the work being done by the Heads of State of the three countries to ensure the event’s success. Still in the light of hosting, the CAF Boss later briefly addressed the number of participating teams for the AF­ CON, saying that some member as­ sociations had told him: “President, if you increase the number of teams from 24 to 28, it is going to make it difficult for us to participate... gi­ ven that you want every zone to host the AFCON.” Nonetheless, no official statement has been publi­ shed by CAF regarding the expan­ sion of the tournament. Bids Opened for the 2028, 2032 and 2036 AFCONs The CAF President also recalled that bids have been opened for countries interested in hosting the AFCON in 2028, 2032 and 2036. CAF officially opened the bidding process in a statement posted on its website on July 3, 2026. During the press conference, it emerged that the bid­ ding process is progressing very well and that many prom...