AFCON trophy
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will expand from 24 to 28 participating teams starting with the 2027 tournament, Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Dr Patrice Motsepe has announced.
Speaking to the media in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Dr Motsepe confirmed that CAF has approved the expansion of Africas flagship football competition as part of efforts to increase participation and provide more opportunities for national teams across the continent.
The 2027 edition of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which will be hosted jointly by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, will therefore feature four additional teams compared to the current 24-team format.
Under the new structure, the 28 participating nations will be divided into seven groups of four teams each during the group stage.
The top two teams from each group will automatically progress to the knockout stage, while the remaining places in the Round of 16 will be completed by the two best third-placed teams across all seven groups.
The adjustment represents another major change to the tournament format after CAF increased the number of participating teams from 16 to 24 ahead of the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.
CAF believes the expansion will further enhance the competitiveness of the tournament while giving more countries the chance to compete on Africas biggest football stage.
The 2027 AFCON will mark the first time the tournament is staged in East Africa, with Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania set to jointly host the continental showpiece.
Dr Motsepe also reaffirmed CAFs commitment to improving the quality, commercial value and global appeal of African football, with preparations already underway for future editions of the competition.
Meanwhile, the qualifiers for the 2027 AFCON are slated for later this year.
