Afcon 2027: East Africa races against time to get stadiums and infrastructure ready

Talanta Stadium

An aerial view of the under-construction 60,000-seater Talanta Stadium in Nairobi on January 23, 2026. 

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Less than a year before the Confederation of African Football (Caf) begins inspecting venues for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are in a race against time to transform ambitious infrastructure plans into tournament-ready facilities.

The three East African nations will jointly host Africa’s premier football tournament for the first time, making the event not only a sporting spectacle but also one of the region’s largest infrastructure and economic projects in recent history.