Morocco and East African co-bid to host 2025 and 2027 Afcon finals

Morocco were awarded the hosting of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals on Wednesday, replacing Guinea who were stripped of the right to host the tournament last year.

The 2027 rights were handed to a co-bid from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Morocco won by default after Algeria, Zambia and a joint bid from Benin and Nigeria all withdrew before the vote of the Confederation of African Football's executive committee in Cairo on Wednesday.

The north African country was a runaway favourite and will see the decision as a boost to their hopes of co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain.

It is only the second time Morocco will host Africa's most popular sporting event, almost four decades after the previous time in 1988.

The joint East African bid for 2027 returns the finals to the region for the first time since 1976.

They beat Botswana, Egypt and Senegal in a vote of the CAF executive committee. Algeria were also a candidate but withdrew on Tuesday. 

The host nations were decided by a vote of the Caf’s executive committee in Cairo on Wednesday.

Algeria withdrew their bid to host one of two finals on the eve of the vote on Tuesday.

The decision on the hosts for the 2025 and 2027 finals was eagerly waited for almost a year since Caf stripped Guinea last October of the right to host the 2025 finals. Caf then said it would name the hosts of the 2027 finals at the same time as deciding on a replacement for Guinea, who were found to be well behind in preparations.

Algeria, Morocco, Zambia and a joint bid from Benin and Nigeria were in the running for the 2025 finals before the withdrawals.

Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Senegal and a joint candidacy from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda submitted bids to host the 2027 tournament.

The hosting of the Cup of Nations has had a checkered history in the last decade, starting with South Africa stepping into replace war-torn Libya in 2013.

In 2014 Guinea were award the right to host the 2023 finals, along with Cameroon (2019) and Ivory Coast (2021).

But Cameroon were declared not ready for the 2019 finals, so Egypt stepped in. Cameroon then hosted the 2021 edition, delayed by one year by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ivory Coast were supposed the host the 2023 event in June but it has been postponed by six months because of concerns over the rainy season in West Africa. 

Reuters