A postponement of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations could benefit Kenya, one of the three host countries, due to the high risks of violence linked to the elections scheduled for the same period, said the president of the Kenyan organizing committee on Thursday.
According to an article published Wednesday by the British newspaper The Guardian, the competition could be pushed to 2028, as Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania are not yet fully prepared to host the event. An inspection mission from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is currently in Tanzania and is set to report on the state of preparations during a meeting scheduled for Friday.
However, CAF president Patrice Motsepe expressed confidence that the tournament will take place in 2027 as originally scheduled.
For the president of the Kenyan organizing committee, Nicholas Musonye, a one-year delay would be “a good thing” for Kenya, which is preparing for legislative and presidential elections in August 2027. He emphasized that the political climate remains tense during elections in the region, citing previous incidents in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, where security may not be fully guaranteed for such a large-scale event.
Kenya has already experienced violent post-election crises, particularly in 2007 and 2017. In the past two years, over a hundred people have also died during anti-government protests.
In Tanzania, thousands of protesters were reportedly killed by security forces after a disputed election. In Uganda, the main opposition leader left the country following recent elections. According to the army chief, dozens of his supporters were killed after being accused of terrorism by the re-elected president Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.
The three East African countries had already co-hosted the African Nations Championship (CHAN) last year, a competition reserved for players in domestic leagues. However, this tournament was postponed from early in the year to August to allow for ongoing infrastructure modernization work.
