27 Sep 2023

Botswana has lost the bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027.

The hosting rights were given to PAMOJA, a joint bid of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe announced winners during a press conference in Cairo, Egypt Wednesday.

Other bidders were Senegal, Nigeria and Benin (jointly) as well as Algeria, which withdrew their bid at the dying minute.

In an interview after the announcement, some football pundits were of the view that PAMOJA had an upper hand.

Botswana Television presenter, Tumo Mpatane said the bid committee did a sterling job.

Mpatane noted that  Botswana lost the bid when it  brought in Zambia at the last minute, a move, which he said brought a lot of logistical questions.

“We must learn from this and build on it going forward. A lot was unclear when we added Zambia since the commitment of governments was valuable in this journey.We should not blame anyone but build on the lessons learnt. We must move forward together and know we win some and lose some,” he said.  

Meanwhile, Morocco won rights to host the 2025 edition of the AFCON after Nigeria and Algeria also withdrew their bids. ENDS