Ethiopia enters race to host 2028 AFCON

Ethiopia has officially submitted its bid to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), seeking to stage the continental tournament for the first time in more than five decades.

The Ethiopian Football Federation confirmed the bid in a post on X on Monday night.

Ethiopia last hosted the AFCON in 1976 and is now hoping to bring the tournament back to the country after 52 years.

The East African nation has a population of about 130 million, making it the second most populous country in Africa. Its capital, Addis Ababa, is also home to the headquarters of the African Union.

At about 2,300 metres above sea level, Addis Ababa is the highest-elevation capital city in Africa.

The bid faces numerous obstacles, including ongoing insurgencies in the country’s two most populous states, Amhara and Oromia, as well as threats of renewed civil war between the federal government and the northern Tigray region.

The Ethiopian team ranks 143rd out of 211 by FIFA, and it last played in the biennial AFCON tournament in 2022, when it was eliminated in the group stage.

“Ethiopia has formally submitted its bid to CAF to host AFCON 2028,” its federation said on X, “reaffirming the nation’s full readiness to host Africa’s biggest footballing event.”

The biennial AFCON was last hosted by Morocco, while next year’s tournament will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The tournament will shift to a new schedule, to be held every four years from 2028, to align with other FIFA competitions.

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which are facing deadly violence from jihadist groups, have expressed their desire to co-host AFCON 2032, according to their football federations.

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