By Nick Said
South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe have bid to co-host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations finals in what would be a first for the continent with four countries staging a single event, though it would not be without precedent.
Botswana Football Association president Tariq Babitseng confirmed the bid had been submitted on time and they are hopeful of earning the hosting rights.
While there is no official plan by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to rotate the hosting of the tournament, the last three editions have been staged in central, west and north Africa, and the 2027 finals will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in the east of the continent. The south, therefore, may feel it is due.
“We submitted on time to host the tournament in southern Africa,” Babitseng said in Harare, where he was elected the new president of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa), the largest of Caf’s six zonal unions.
“We have the transport routes and the infrastructure to host a successful tournament.”
South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe will co-host the 2027 Cricket World Cup.
While unusual, it would not be unprecedented to have four nations host a continental finals tournament.
The 2020 edition of the European Championship was staged across 11 countries, while England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland will co-host in 2028. The 2007 Asian Cup was held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
South Africa (1996 and 2013) and Angola (2010) are the only Southern African nations to have hosted the Afcon.
Caf announced in 2025 the tournament would return to even-numbered years, hence the one-year gap from the 2027 Afcon, and become a quadrennial event starting with the 2028 edition.
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