Kenya would welcome 2027 AFCON delay – Organiser

Co-hosts Kenya would support postponing the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations given the likelihood of election-related violence around that time, the chair of its organising committee told AFP on Thursday.

A report in British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday said that the competition could be postponed to 2028 because Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are not yet ready to host the competition.

An inspection team from the Confederation of African Football is currently in Tanzania and due to hold a meeting about preparations on Friday.

CAF president Patrice Motshepe has previously stated that he is confident that the 2027 competition will go ahead as planned.

But Nicholas Musonye, chair of the Kenyan Local Organising Committee, said that postponing the tournament to 2028 “would be good for Kenya considering the country would be gearing up for national general elections in August 2027”.

“We’ve seen the volatile atmosphere around these elections in Tanzania, Uganda and even Kenya. Security would not be guaranteed for such a big competition as the Africa Cup of Nations,” he told AFP.

Postponing the competition may not be possible as the following edition is already scheduled for 2028, although no host nation has yet been chosen.

The biennial event is due to switch to four-year cycles from the 2028 edition to bring it into line with other continental competitions such as the European Championships and Copa America.

Kenya has seen major outbreaks of violence around elections, most notably in 2007 and 2017, and dozens of people have been killed in anti-government protests over the past two years.

Tanzania’s election in October saw thousands of protesters killed by security forces after allegations that the vote was rigged, while last month’s elections in Uganda saw the opposition leader flee into hiding, and dozens of his supporters killed, after being accused of terrorism by the long-ruling incumbent, President Yoweri Museveni.

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