AFCON 2027: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania race to finish venues as CAF deadlines near

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are racing to finish stadiums and training grounds for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), with some work still outstanding, Al Jazeera reported on 1 October 2026.

The tournament runs from 19 June to 17 July 2027. It is the first AFCON co-hosted by three countries, and East Africa's first since Ethiopia in 1976, according to Al Jazeera.

Kenya: Talanta in focus, work remains at Kasarani

Kenya's flagship venue is the 60,000-capacity Talanta Sports International Stadium in Nairobi. Al Jazeera says a Confederation of African Football (CAF) delegation spent eight days inspecting facilities across the three host countries, and that CAF President Patrice Motsepe later said he was impressed by progress at Talanta.

Motsepe also visited Kasarani Stadium, where, Al Jazeera reports, work remains to be completed. Nicholus Musonye, chairman of Kenya's AFCON 2027 Local Organising Committee, told Al Jazeera that work on Kasarani's pitch should be completed by the end of October, with the venue planned to be ready for handover in December. Moses Kamalik, an executive member of the Boxing Federation of Kenya, said other venues also needed work, including Nyayo Stadium and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.

Musonye said: "I want to assure Africa, and I want to assure the world, that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, we are ready to host AFCON."

Who is building Talanta

According to Construction Kenya Showcase, construction began in March 2024 with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) as main contractor.

In April 2026, Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo said the project was in its final construction phase, with the superstructure complete and work focused on seat installation, broadcast systems, lighting and final electrical and ICT fittings, Kenyans.co.ke reported.

Chinese firms also hold the access-road contract. Pulse Sports Kenya reported in February that China Road and Bridge Corporation, China Wu Yi Co Ltd and Kenya's Gaps Construction and Engineering Co. Limited won a KSh 3.9 billion contract for walkways, single carriageways and footbridges around the stadium. The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) used a fast-track procurement route, and the work is to take 12 months, followed by a 12-month defects notification period.

Uganda and Tanzania

In Tanzania, Neema Msitha, chief executive of the country's AFCON 2027 Local Organising Committee, told Al Jazeera: "All these stadiums are almost ready. If you grade them on average, all of them are almost above 80 percent." Al Jazeera reports that the stadiums are on average more than 80 per cent complete and expected to be ready for handover to CAF in January, while Msitha said training facilities were about 75 per cent complete.

In Uganda, Al Jazeera reports that Hoima City Stadium has been completed and commissioned and Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium in Lira is due to be completed and commissioned by December. Uganda's organising committee expects 10 of the country's 12 training facilities to be ready by the end of the year.

Doubts remain

CAF's earlier verdict was harsher. Pulse Sports reported on 27 March 2026 that, after a February inspection, CAF found none of Kenya's three proposed venues met required standards. It said CAF had designated the period up to August 2026 as a "decisive implementation phase", and that by the next visit Kenya was expected to reach at least 80 per cent completion on stadium construction and refurbishment and to fully commission critical systems.

Kenyan football fan Kelvin Kimaru told Al Jazeera: "We are not yet ready because the training grounds for the coming teams are not yet ready."

What happens next

Musonye said Kasarani's pitch should be done by the end of October, with handover planned for December. Patrick Ogwel, a CAF infrastructure monitoring officer, told Al Jazeera that infrastructure development was expected to be ready by 31 December. Uganda's organising committee said some training facilities were planned for completion in January 2027. This story is developing and will be updated.