Africa’s top football body, CAF clears Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to proceed with joint AFCON 2032 bid

The confirmation marks the first formal milestone in the Alliance of Sahel States’ (AES) ambition to jointly stage Africa’s premier football competition, although the trio has not yet been awarded hosting rights.

The Nigerien Football Federation (FENIFOOT) announced that CAF had officially accepted the declaration of interest submitted by the football federations of the three countries in accordance with Article 7.3 of CAF’s bidding regulations.

According to FENIFOOT, the acceptance confirms that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have met the initial requirement to enter the official process through which CAF will evaluate and select the host nation or nations for the 2032 tournament.

Earlier this month, CAF invited its 54 member associations to submit bids to host the 2028, 2032 and 2036 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The continental football body said it had developed a comprehensive bidding framework with support from consulting firm PwC and other technical, financial and legal advisers to ensure a transparent and internationally recognised selection process.

CAF described AFCON as Africa’s biggest sporting event, attracting more than 3.2 billion television viewers and 6 billion digital views globally.

The governing body also confirmed that the 2027 TotalEnergies AFCON will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between June 19 and July 17, 2027, continuing the growing trend of multi-country hosting on the continent.

As part of the latest bidding process, a meeting was held on July 18 in New York between CAF President Patrice Motsepe and the presidents of the football federations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

According to FENIFOOT, Motsepe acknowledged the three countries’ shared ambition to host AFCON 2032 and welcomed their proposal as a demonstration of regional cooperation. He also encouraged the federations to continue preparing their bid in line with CAF’s established procedures and technical requirements.

The three countries are members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a regional bloc formed by the military-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger following their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

If successful, the joint bid would mark the first time the three neighbouring Sahel nations host the Africa Cup of Nations together, adding another chapter to CAF’s increasing preference for collaborative hosting arrangements aimed at sharing infrastructure costs and expanding the tournament’s regional impact.

The acceptance of their declaration of interest does not guarantee hosting rights but positions the AES nations to continue competing in CAF’s evaluation process for the 2032 tournament.