Motsepe targets multi-billion AFCON 2027 impact for East Africa

CAF president Patrice Motsepe has projected that AFCON 2027 will inject billions of dollars into the economies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as the three hosts step up preparations for the first East African edition under the Pamoja banner.Motsepe delivered the message in Nairobi at the Africa Forward Summit, pitching the tournament’s commercial upside alongside the scale of its global media reach.“2.5 billion people watched the AFCON in Morocco, 6.2 billion digital viewers. Billions of people worldwide were interacting and viewing what was going on in Morocco. 180 countries throughout the world were watching the AFCON in Morocco.”CAF is using Morocco’s last edition as the reference case for host impact, pointing to research it said put the economic benefit at about US$2bn over the month of the competition.“The Moroccan economy benefited approximately $2 billion. Nielsen is one of the top research and marketing companies in the world, used by UEFA and FIFA, and we asked them to make a study and they found that the economy of Morocco benefited for the value of $2 billion for the month of AFCON.”AFCON 2027 is scheduled to run from June 19 to July 17, with infrastructure work focused on stadium upgrades and training sites across the three countries.Motsepe said the ambition is to deliver the most successful edition of the competition, raising expectations on delivery standards and the ability to convert the event into sustained tourism and investment attention.“Next year, President [William] Ruto will be hosting the world and we are hosting in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda the most successful AFCON in the history of this competition.”The economic claim comes with rising scrutiny on event cost, particularly in markets where public spending decisions face domestic pressure and where stadium and transport projects can overrun.CAF’s own tournament economics have also been part of the narrative, with the confederation pointing to improved profitability in recent cycles as it seeks to grow central revenues and commercial confidence.CAF said it generated about US$72m in profit from the 2023 tournament before rising to about US$113m in net profit from the 2025 edition, setting a performance target that East Africa is being asked to beat.The next operational milestone is confirming venue readiness timelines and finalising tournament services planning across security, transport, training sites and broadcast operations ahead of the 2027 delivery window.