African Cup of Nations Trophy.
In a statement, CAF said the opening match of the AFCON 2027 will take place on 19 June 2027, while the final is set for 17 July 2027.
The governing body added that the venues for both the opening match and the final will be confirmed at a later stage.
The tournament will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, marking the first time the competition is staged across three countries and the return of AFCON to East Africa for the first time since 1976 Africa Cup of Nations in Ethiopia.
CAF confirmed that the draw for the qualifiers will be held on 19 May 2026, following the completion of the preliminary round.
A total of 48 teams, including the three hosts, will compete in the qualifiers for 24 places in the finals.
The qualifiers will be played over three international windows: September, October and November 2026, and March 2027.
Teams will be divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two sides from each group advancing to the final tournament.
CAF added that the upcoming tournament will build on the commercial and global success of recent editions, including 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which recorded strong growth in sponsorship and international viewership.
The last summer edition of AFCON was held in Egypt from 21 June to 19 July 2019, when Algeria won the title.
Hosts Egypt were eliminated in the round of 16 after a 1-0 defeat to South Africa.
The tournament also marked the first expansion of the Africa Cup of Nations from 16 to 24 teams.
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