Political goodwill a key factor in winning 2027 AFCON hosting rights

“The 2027 edition is going to be beautiful. The commitment and drive made by the three Presidents of the countries shows how eager the region is to host this event,” CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe said shortly after awarding the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations hosting rights to the trio of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania - nations flying under the East Africa Pamoja Bid - at the CAF Executive Committee (EXCO) meeting at the Cairo Marriott Hotel in Egypt.

The line was repeated several times by the South African and seventh person to hold the reins at CAF, as he gave every possible explanation behind the committee’s decision on Wednesday afternoon.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, who as per the CAF President tabled a ‘great presentation’ and one that going by several reports ‘elicited good reactions in Cairo’, managed to beat out strong opposition in 2019 hosts Egypt, Senegal and Botswana, with Algeria withdrawing its bid just two days before the announcement.

While many might argue that the need to embrace the ‘regional rotation of the Africa Cup of nations tournament hosts’ once hinted by Dr. Motsepe as one of the reasons to award a region (CECAFA) that hadn’t hosted the now biennial tournament since 1976 the honors this time, and given the immense work that laid ahead in as far as infrastructure Is concerned, one key aspect that seemed to move the best pieces was the individual states’ political goodwill.

As for Kenya, recent memory takes us back to Sunday 14 May 2023, when the President of Kenya, Dr William Ruto, while attending the Mashemeji Derby between Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards at the Nyayo National Stadium, took his moment at center pitch to affirm Kenya’s bid to hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

With the same message sounding familiar then, given the Cabinet’s approved proposal on December 6 2022 to host the biennial continental championships, and Confederation of African Football confirmation of Kenya’s joint bid with Uganda and Tanzania to host the 2027 showpiece alongside three other candidates; Algeria, Botswana and Egypt, that day sounded different, given the events that followed some hours later - on Monday 15 May - at the steps of State House, Nairobi.

“Our plan for the radical social-economic transformation of our country entails a broad array of commitments to be undertaken in every sector of our national endeavor in order to take Kenya further along the path towards our collective aspirations and unprecedented levels of shared prosperity,” the Head of State said in the Kenyan launch of the EAC Pamoja Bid while in the midst of Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts Ababu Namwamba, and the Football Kenya Federation Nick Mwendwa.

What would follow thereafter, was an accelerated effort to not only mobilize the Cabinet Secretary and his equals in both Uganda and Tanzania in ‘formulating a winning bid’, but their direct involvement in the process leading up to the landmark announcement on Wednesday.

“I must commend the efforts by the Presidents of the three countries; William Ruto (Kenya), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Samia Hassan (Tanzania) for playing such a huge role in the success of this bid,” Motsepe mentioned in his speech in Cairo.

The statement in itself was testament to the promise made by the Kenyan President in May - on having already consulted with his counterparts to jointly work together on all mechanics and timetables necessary to bring the tournament to East Africa - something they notably did in their official launches in May, while signing seven different guarantees submitted to CAF in readiness for inspection visits.

East African leaders rejoice after successful AFCON bid

“We have the goodwill of the President of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, all talking at their level,” Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) President Moses Magogo said recently at the Africa Football Business Summit 2023 in Nairobi.

It was not all talk, but action, seen as early as 22 June 2023, when the trio of Mr. Gerald Shiranda, Dr. Shogo Mlozi and Mr. David Sankok, all representatives at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) all took to the podium in Arusha, luring member states - Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Burundi - in passing the motion to acquire necessary support through their respective footballing federations.

The big hurdle, it seemed, for the three nations, was their state of infrastructure and given the experience and added insight of the FUFA President - who is also a CAF Executive Member - one thing had to give.

“The bids are awarded on plans, they are not awarded on actuals,” Magogo said, adding that the three East African nations needed not to reconstruct their existing stadia, but ‘put them right.’

Just as in their presentation on Wednesday, all of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, with their Ministry of Sports officials in tow, presented a total nine stadiums each, coupled up with the existence of training grounds, airports, hospitals and hotels.

In the 26 July CAF inspection visit in Nairobi, CS Ababu Namwamba was at hand to reiterate the Kenyan Government support in the journey, a key factor that seemed to miss in Kenya’s failed bid to host the African Nations Championship in 2018.

Among the stadiums put up to host the tournament include the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, Nyayo Stadium and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.

Uganda, notably represented by Magogo, presented the Mandela National Stadium, Akii Bua Stadium and Hoima -proposed for construction - as their three venues, with Tanzania, already home to a CAF-certified Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, adding up Chamazi Complex and CCM Kirumba Stadium as its other alternatives.

While Kenya’s renovation programs have been taken up by the Kenya Defense Forces and set to be ready by 2025, 2026 remains to be the timeline to beat, all leading up to a tournament that will not only be premised on political, economic, social and environmental aspects, but one that will buy in to the nations’ individual development goals and visions.

Wonder what would have been the odds to land the rights weren’t it not for the immense contribution of each member state, more so on the legislative side.