The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will expand from 24 to 28 participating teams from the 2027 edition, Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Dr Patrice Motsepe has confirmed.
Speaking during a media engagement in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Dr Motsepe announced that CAF has approved the increase as part of efforts to provide more opportunities for national teams across the continent and further grow Africa’s biggest football competition.
The 2027 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, will therefore feature four additional teams compared to the current 24-team format.
Under the new structure, the 28 qualified teams will be divided into seven groups of four during the group stage.
The top two teams from each group will automatically advance to the knockout stage, while the remaining two Round of 16 places will be awarded to the best-performing third-placed teams across the groups.
The expansion follows CAF’s previous decision to increase the tournament from 16 to 24 teams ahead of the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.
CAF believes the latest adjustment will improve competitiveness, increase representation and allow more countries to experience the prestige of competing on Africa’s biggest football platform.
The 2027 tournament will also make history as the first AFCON edition to be hosted in East Africa, with Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania preparing to stage the continental showpiece.
Dr Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to enhancing the quality, commercial strength and global reputation of African football, with plans already underway to continue improving the tournament experience.
Meanwhile, the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations are expected to begin later this year as nations across the continent battle for places at the expanded competition.
