AFCON

Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing set to begin after Senegal stripped of Africa Cup of Nations title by CAF.

The long-running saga over the winner of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title will move closer to resolution on Thursday when Senegal’s appeal, ⁠after being stripped of the title, is heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

Senegal are contesting the Confederation of African Football’s decision to declare Morocco champions, despite Senegal beating the hosts 1-0 after extra time ⁠in January’s final in Rabat.

Senegal walked off the pitch for 14 minutes after a penalty was awarded against them late in regulation time, with several players returning to the dressing room in protest before they resumed play.

Morocco failed to convert the spot kick, sending the match into extra time, where Senegal scored the winner to secure victory.

However, they were stripped ‌of the title two months later after CAF’s Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match by walking off the pitch, overturning the result and awarding a 3-0 victory to Morocco.

Senegal quickly followed with an appeal to CAS, which was lodged on March 25 but is only being heard on Thursday. Senegal want to be reinstated as winners, and a panel will listen to arguments from Senegal, Morocco and CAF.

“After the hearing, the panel will start its deliberations. At this stage, CAS cannot state when a final decision will ⁠be rendered but it will not be on the date of the hearing,” CAS ⁠said in a statement.

Three-man CAS panel to hear Senegal and CAF arguments

The panel will be presided over by French civil rights expert Gerald Simon, with assistance from Italian international law professor Luigi Fumagalli and Hamburg-based lawyer and professor of law at the University of Zurich, Ulrich Haas.

They are ⁠likely to hear arguments from Senegal that the Laws of the Game determine the referee’s decisions on incidents of play are final and cannot be challenged after the ⁠fact.

Also important is an interpretation of the articles of the tournament regulations on ⁠which CAF’s Appeals Board ruled in Morocco’s favour, which state that “if, for any reason whatsoever, a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered the loser and shall be eliminated for ‌good from the current competition.”

Senegal’s lawyers are expected to argue that the articles must be interpreted strictly and that a temporary departure from the field cannot be equated with abandoning the match, while Morocco are expected to ‌argue ‌for an opposing interpretation, according to which a team that leaves the field without the referee’s authorisation must be considered the loser and definitively eliminated from the competition, even if its departure was not permanent.

The hearing takes place behind closed doors.

Qualification for AFCON 2027 has already begun, with Senegal drawing the opening game of Patrick Vieira’s tenure as coach with Mozambique on September 25, before winning 1-0 in Ethiopia on September 29.

Morocco have won both of their opening games, beating Gabon and Lesotho.

Nairobi, Kenya – With less than nine months until the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are entering the most demanding phase of preparations: completing and testing the stadiums, training grounds and supporting infrastructure needed to host the tournament.

The tournament, scheduled for June 19 to July 17, 2027, will be the first Africa Cup of Nations jointly hosted by three countries and the competition’s return to East Africa since Ethiopia staged the finals in 1976.

A Confederation of African Football (CAF) delegation spent eight days inspecting facilities across the three host countries earlier this month, assessing stadiums, training grounds, hotels, airports and other infrastructure. The delegation included officials responsible for competitions, safety and security, transport, media, television and logistics.

Kenya: Talanta takes centre stage

In Kenya, the biggest project is the newly built Talanta Sports International Stadium in Nairobi.

The 60,000-capacity stadium is intended to be the country’s flagship AFCON venue and was inspected by CAF earlier this month. During a subsequent visit, CAF President Patrice Motsepe said he was impressed by the progress at Talanta. He also visited Kasarani Stadium, where work remains to be completed.

But Kenya’s preparations extend well beyond its new flagship stadium.

CAF’s inspection also covered training venues, hotels, airport infrastructure and other sites supporting the Nairobi tournament operation.

Nicholus Musonye, chairman of Kenya’s AFCON 2027 Local Organising Committee, told Al Jazeera that the country was addressing the outstanding requirements.

“I want to assure Africa, and I want to assure the world, that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, we are ready to host AFCON,” Musonye said.

He said work on Kasarani’s pitch should be completed by the end of October, with the venue planned to be ready for handover in December.

But concerns remain about some of the facilities that will support the tournament.

Kelvin Kimaru, a Kenyan football fan, told Al Jazeera that training grounds remained a concern.

“We are not yet ready because the training grounds for the coming teams are not yet ready,” Kimaru said.

Moses Kamalik, an executive member of the Boxing Federation of Kenya, said other venues also needed work, including Nyayo Stadium and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.

The challenge for Kenya is broader than completing Talanta; it needs a network of match venues, training grounds and supporting facilities capable of operating together when teams and supporters arrive.

Tanzania: the race extends beyond stadiums

Tanzania is also entering the final stretch, with preparations covering stadiums, training grounds and the infrastructure connecting them.

Neema Msitha, chief executive of the country’s AFCON 2027 Local Organising Committee, told Al Jazeera that the country’s stadiums were more than 80 percent complete on average and expected to be ready for handover to CAF in January.

“All these stadiums are almost ready. If you grade them on average, all of them are almost above 80 percent,” Msitha said.

Training facilities are being developed alongside the main venues, with five facilities being prepared in each host location. Msitha said they were about 75 percent complete.

The Tanzanian government has also applied pressure to accelerate the work.

In August, Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba ordered work on AFCON training grounds to speed up, saying the facilities needed to be completed on time and meet CAF standards. He issued the directive after inspecting the Farasi and Leaders Club training grounds in Dar-es-Salaam.

Road infrastructure is also part of the preparations. In June, Works Minister Abdallah Ulega ordered contractors working on roads linked to the tournament in Arusha to operate around the clock to meet deadlines and international standards.

Msitha pointed to regional airlines, Air Tanzania and ferry services between Dar-es-Salaam and Zanzibar as part of the transport arrangements being developed for teams, officials and supporters.

CAF’s September inspection included Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar-es-Salaam and other key facilities in Tanzania as the governing body continued to assess preparations across the three hosts.

Uganda faces its own deadlines

Uganda is working towards the same year-end push.

Patrick Ogwel, a CAF infrastructure monitoring officer, told Al Jazeera that infrastructure development was expected to be ready by December 31.

Hoima City Stadium has been completed and commissioned, he said, while Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium in Lira is due to be completed and commissioned by December.

Uganda’s Local Organising Committee has identified Akii-Bua, Hoima City Stadium and Mandela National Stadium as its three main stadiums. It expects 10 of the country’s 12 training facilities to be ready by the end of the year.

The organising committee said after CAF’s latest inspection that all three stadiums remained on course for completion by the end of December, while some training facilities were planned to be completed in January 2027.

But the deadlines are not without pressure.

On September 24, Uganda’s State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang directed the Uganda People’s Defence Forces to accelerate work on several AFCON training facilities, citing concerns about the pace of construction at sites including Pece Stadium in Gulu, Lira and Gulu University.

After its September inspection, the CAF delegation also briefed President Yoweri Museveni, with challenges outside Kampala among the issues raised during the assessment.

From construction to tournament readiness

The coming months will test whether the three hosts can turn construction progress into a functioning tournament operation.

AFCON requires stadiums and training grounds that can handle teams and spectators while meeting requirements for broadcasting, media, security, transport, hospitality and match operations.

A completed stadium is only one part of the equation.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have already gained experience from jointly hosting the 2024 African Nations Championship, which allowed the three countries to work together on a major continental tournament. CAF has also involved representatives from the three local organising committees in an observer mission at the recent AFCON in Morocco.

But AFCON will be a larger undertaking, with 24 national teams competing across the three countries for almost a month.

The coming months will determine whether the work under way across the three countries can be completed, verified and brought into operation before teams and supporters begin arriving.

For supporters in East Africa, the tournament represents more than a test of stadiums and infrastructure. It is also a chance to experience Africa’s biggest national-team competition on home soil.

Gilbert Okeya, a Kenyan football fan and Football Kenya Federation referee, told Al Jazeera:

“We are happy because we are going to host, and we are going to have an opportunity to have live matches for AFCON in our country.”

Democratic Republic of the Congo secure their second straight win in Group E, with striker Yoanne Wissa scoring again.

Yoane Wissa scored the first goal and created the second as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) spoiled a Zimbabwe homecoming by winning a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier 2-1 in Harare.

The 30-year-old Newcastle United striker struck in the 30th minute, poking a loose ball into the net after goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze allowed a cross to slip from his grasp in the qualifying match on Monday.

DRC, who secured a historic last-32 finish at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, went further ahead in first-half added time when a Wissa pass sent Samuel Moutoussamy through to score.

After being outplayed in the opening half by a team 89 places higher in the FIFA world rankings, Zimbabwe improved after half-time, with Marshall Munetsi scoring a 93rd-minute consolation goal.

Zimbabwe last played at home in November 2021 before the Harare venue was deemed unsuitable for international fixtures, leading to lengthy renovations.

DRC, whose second of two AFCON titles came 52 years ago, top Group E with a maximum six points after launching their campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Equatorial Guinea.

Botswana hold Tunisia to draw

Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea, who meet twice in November, have three points each, and Sierra Leone are pointless.

A first-minute goal from Loren Zuniga earned Equatorial Guinea a 1-0 win over Sierra Leone in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

Equatorial Guinea are among the 11 of the 48 qualifiers for the AFCON group stage who must host matches at neutral venues as they lack an international-standard stadium.

Central African Republic are another “homeless” nation. They fell 1-0 to Burkina Faso in Group F in the Moroccan commercial hub of Casablanca. Aboubacar Camara netted the second-half winner.

Struggling Tunisia were held at home for the second time in four days, drawing 2-2 with Botswana in Rades near Tunis.

Tunisia looked set for a first competitive win this year when Hazem Mastouri scored either side of half-time after Botswana had taken the lead.

But the minnows from Southern Africa – 90 places below Tunisia in the world rankings – equalised on the hour through a delicate lob from substitute Lebogang Ditsele.

It was the second successive 2-2 draw for Botswana after sharing the points in Libya last week, and they remain top of Group H on goals scored ahead of Tunisia.

Egyptian FA has decided to rest Salah to protect him from playing on artificial turf, which has a higher risk of injuries.

Mohamed Salah will not travel with ⁠Egypt’s ⁠squad to South Sudan for their second Africa Cup of Nations qualifier because the ⁠match will be played on artificial turf, the Egyptian Football Association said ⁠on Saturday.

Record seven-time AFCON champions Egypt were held to a goalless draw by Angola at Cairo International Stadium on Friday in their opening qualifier.

Two-time African Footballer of the Year, Salah, who ‌joined Turkiye’s Trabzonspor from Liverpool last month, started against Angola but did not complete the match after coach Hossam Hassan substituted him midway through the second half.

“The Egypt national team’s technical staff, led by Hossam Hassan, has ⁠decided to rest Mohamed Salah ⁠for the match against South Sudan scheduled for September 29 because of the playing surface,” the EFA said on social ⁠media.

“It was agreed between the national team’s technical staff and ⁠Mohamed Salah before the Angola ⁠match that he would not play against South Sudan, and the technical staff preferred this approach in order to ‌protect the player,” the EFA added.

Salah has scored 68 goals for Egypt and is just one short of matching coach and ex-player Hassan’s all-time record of 69 for The Pharaohs.

Tuesday’s match between South Sudan and Egypt will be played ‌at ‌Juba Stadium, which has an artificial turf pitch. Such surfaces pose a higher risk of injuries than those with natural grass.

Egypt are in Group B of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, alongside Angola, South Sudan and Malawi. The 2027 AFCON will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, featuring 24 teams.

Though Egypt are the most successful African side, they haven’t won the championship since 2010.

Follow updates, build-up, team news and lineups, from our live text commentary stream coverage as Yan Diomande stars.

Who: Ivory Coast vs Ghana
What: CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
Where: Stade de Bouake, in Bouake, Ivory Coast
When: Thursday, September 24, at 7pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 16:00 GMT before our text commentary stream.

The qualification process for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off with a match befitting the final itself as Ivory Coast play Ghana.

Both nations are packed with high-profile players and are led by names that have managed at the highest levels of the game.

Al Jazeera takes a look at the mouth-watering opener on the path to the finals in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Who else is in Ivory Coast and Ghana’s AFCON qualifying group?

The Gambia and Somalia complete Group C of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

In the next round of matches in the group, Ghana will entertain The Gambia on Tuesday, while Ivory Coast will travel to Somalia.

What are the expectations on Ivory Coast’s AFCON campaign?

Despite their round-of-32 exit in the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the hands of Norway, Ivory Coast’s task ahead is quite clear: win AFCON 2027.

The Elephants are led by Herve Renard, who is taking charge of the West African giants for the second time and replaced Emerse Fae following the World Cup.

The Frenchman previously managed Ivory Coast from 2014 to 2015, leading them to the AFCON title before joining French Ligue 1 club Lille immediately after the final.

Renard is a two-time AFCON winner, having also led Zambia to their historic win in 2012. The 57-year-old has also managed Morocco, Tunisia – in a last-minute call-up at World Cup 2026 – and Saudi Arabia, who he famously led to victory against Argentina in their group-stage match at Qatar 2022.

Who are the star names in the Ivory Coast side?

Although not blessed with the superstar-level talents like Didier Drogba from their 2015 victory, Ivory Coast are still a force to be reckoned with.

Yan Diomande is the shining light of African football following his $161m move to Spanish giants Real Madrid from RB Leipzig in Germany.

Former Barcelona midfielder, now with Atalanta in Italy’s Serie A, Franck Kessie is arguably the next biggest name in the current side.

Former Arsenal forward, Nicolas Pepe is resurrecting his career at Villarreal in Spain after a failed $92m transfer to the Gunners from French club Lille.

Ibrahim Sangare has been a standout performer in the English Premier League with Nottingham Forest, while Amad Diallo of Manchester United is the starlet of Ivory Coast football.

What is Ivory Coast’s AFCON record?

The Elephants are three-time AFCON winners and beat Ghana on penalties in the 1992 final for their first continental crown.

Renard’s 2015 victory also saw Ghana defeated, and once again it was by penalties.

Their most recent win came at the 2023 edition when they defeated Nigeria 2-1 on home soil.

What are the expectations on Ghana’s AFCON campaign?

Ghana, like Ivory Coast, were also eliminated at the round of 32 at the World Cup 2026 as they lost 1-0 to Colombia.

The Black Stars also lost their final group stage match to Croatia, but achieved a respectable 0-0 draw with eventual semifinalists England, while beating Panama to secure their progress to the knockouts.

Led by former Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz, Ghana will also have their sights set on the final of AFCON 2027.

Queiroz, who rose to prominence as assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, has the record of Iran’s longest-serving manager with a run between 2011 and 2019. The Portuguese also returned to manage the side at Qatar 2022.

Alongside his two-year stint as Real manager, the 73-year-old has also managed South Africa, Egypt, Colombia, Qatar and his native Portugal.

With his wealth of experience, the West Africans will hope to rise from a nation that failed to reach the last AFCON – finishing bottom of their qualifying group – to winners of the 2027 edition.

Who are the star names in the Ghana side?

Where Ivory Coast have more strength across the board, Ghana have a longer list of star attractions.

Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo is undoubtedly Ghana’s key player, but is ably assisted in attack by Mohammed Kudus, who made his name in the English Premier League with West Ham before a big-money move to Tottenham.

Jordan Ayew is a long-established spearhead of attacks in European football, as well as for Ghana, for whom he remains the national team captain.

Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is still a pivotal player for his new club Villarreal, while Athletic Bilbao’s Inaki Williams remains one of the hottest talents in La Liga, with a host of top clubs across Europe vying for his signature.

What is Ghana’s AFCON record?

Ghana are four-time winners of AFCON, but have not lifted the trophy since 1982.

Alongside their 1992 and 2015 defeats by Ivory Coast, they lost the 2010 edition to Egypt.

What happened the last time Ivory Coast played Ghana?

The last meeting between the sides came in a friendly in 2021 and, much like the 2015 AFCON final, it ended in a 0-0 draw.

The previous competitive meeting between the sides saw Ivory Coast win 3-1 in their round-of-16 match at AFCON 2010.

Head-to-head

This will be the 38th meeting between the border-sharing nations, with Ghana winning 15 of the encounters and Ivory Coast winning 10.

Ivory Coast team news

Diallo is the prominent absentee from the match for Ivory Coast as the forward recovers from injury.

Evann Guessand and Omar Diakite are notable omissions from Renard’s 25-man squad selection.

Ivory Coast predicted starting lineup

Fofana; Doue, Koussounou, O Diomande, Konan; Kessie, Sangare, Inao; Pepe, Bonny, Y Diomande

Ghana team news

Injuries have stripped the Ghana squad of a number of their leading names, including their captain Ayew.

The losses of Semenyo and Kudus are even greater blows, the latter having missed the 2026 World Cup with a hamstring injury.

Ghana predicted starting lineup

Asare; Oppong, Adjetey, Opoku, Mensah; Yirenkyi, Sibo, Donkor; Issahaku, Thomas-Asante, Nuamah

The qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations begin on Thursday, with 48 countries competing to earn spots in Africa’s biggest football tournament.

Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda will cohost AFCON 2027, as the competition returns to East Africa for the first time in 51 years.

Divided into 12 groups, the teams will be involved in a six-round qualifying process that runs to March next year.

Here’s everything to know about AFCON 2027:

Which teams are in the AFCON 2027 qualifiers?

The draw for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers took place in Cairo, Egypt, in May.

The 48 teams competing in the qualifiers are as follows:

• Group A: Morocco, Gabon, Niger, Lesotho
• Group B: Egypt, Angola, Malawi, South Sudan
• Group C: Ivory Coast, Ghana, The Gambia, Somalia
• Group D: South Africa, Guinea, Kenya, Eritrea
• Group E: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe
• Group F: Burkina Faso, Benin, Mauritania, Central African Republic
• Group G: Cameroon, Comoros, Namibia, Congo
• Group H: Tunisia, Uganda, Libya, Botswana
• Group I: Algeria, Zambia, Togo, Burundi
• Group J: Senegal, Mozambique, Sudan, Ethiopia
• Group K: Mali, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Liberia
• Group L: Nigeria, Madagascar, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau

What are the top AFCON 2027 qualifying matches?

From the first two rounds:

• Ivory Coast vs Ghana – Thursday, September 24 at 19:00 GMT
• Nigeria vs Madagascar – Friday, September 25 at 16:00 GMT
• Morocco vs Gabon – Friday, September 25 at 19:00 GMT
• Egypt vs Angola – Friday, September 25 at 19:00 GMT
• Algeria vs Zambia – Friday, September 25 at 19:00 GMT
• Senegal vs Mozambique – Friday, September 25 at 19:00 GMT
• South Africa vs Guinea – Saturday, September 26 at 16:00 GMT

What is the schedule for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers?

The six rounds of AFCON 2027 qualifying will be held across these FIFA international windows:

• Rounds 1 and 2: September 21-October 6, 2026
• Rounds 3 and 4: November 9-17, 2026
• Rounds 5 and 6: March 22-30, 2027

How many teams can qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations?

In total, 24 teams qualify for AFCON 2027.

The general rule is that the top two teams in each group will advance to the finals.

However, in groups containing Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania – who have automatically qualified as cohosts – only the highest-ranked team outside the respective host country will go through.

The qualifiers will be played in a home and away format, with each team playing six matches.

When and where is AFCON 2027?

The 36th edition of AFCON will be held in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, bringing the tournament back to East Africa after five decades.

The tournament will run from June 19 to July 17, 2027, at 10 venues across the countries.

The stadiums are in the Tanzanian cities of Dar-es-Salaam, Arusha, Zanzibar, the Kenyan capital Nairobi, and Hoima, Kampala and Lira in Uganda.

Who won the last AFCON?

Senegal defeated Morocco 1-0 in the latest AFCON final on January 18, as Pape Gueye’s extra-time goal in a chaotic contest guided them to their second continental title.

But in March, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) made the extraordinary move to strip Senegal of their crown and award it to Morocco.

The controversial decision came after a review of an incident at the end of normal time in the final, which saw most of the Senegalese team temporarily leave the field to protest an added-time penalty awarded to Morocco, which was missed after a lengthy delay.

Senegal have appealed against CAF’s decision, and the appeal will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on October 8.

Salah, Diaz and Lookman: The top players in AFCON 2027 qualifiers

Two-time African Footballer of the Year Mohamed Salah, who now plays club football for Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Lig, stars in record seven-time African champions Egypt’s squad.

Fans should also watch out for Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz and teen midfield sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi in the Morocco squad, led by new coach Mohamed Ouahbi, as well as Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze in the Nigerian side.

Elsewhere, Ghana are strengthened by the return of their attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus, who missed the FIFA World Cup 2026 during a seven-month injury absence, while Senegal’s midfield features several talents such as Ibrahim Mbaye and Iliman Ndiaye.

Will Mane and Hakimi play in the AFCON qualifiers?

Morocco will be without their key player and captain Achraf Hakimi for the opening two matches as he serves a two-match suspension, alongside Ismael Saibari, who is banned for three games, for unsporting behaviour during the shambolic AFCON final in January.

Senegal will be without Sadio Mane, two-time African Footballer of the Year, as the Al-Nassr player sits out the match against Mozambique with what newly-appointed coach Patrick Vieira described as a “physical issue”.

Which other key players will miss the AFCON qualifiers?

Nigeria’s star striker Victor Osimhen will miss the opening qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau as he continues his recovery from a muscle problem. One of Africa’s finest forwards, Osimhen picked up the injury while playing for his Turkish club Galatasaray.

Naby Keita is among the several established names excluded from the Guinea squad, while Tunisia’s Hannibal Mejbri and Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo are both out with injuries.

Gabon will be without former captain and all-time top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who quit international duty, saying he felt “humiliated” by his exclusion and subsequent reinstatement after the AFCON in Morocco in January.

Many other players also called time on their international careers this year. This includes Riyad Mahrez, who guided Algeria to the AFCON 2019 title; Edouard Mendy, Senegal’s first-choice goalkeeper during their AFCON 2021 triumph; and Ghana’s Spanish-born forward Inaki Williams.

How to watch and follow AFCON 2027 qualifying matches?

Fans can catch all the action from the AFCON 2027 qualifiers on the following broadcasters or streaming platforms:

• North Africa and Middle East: beIN SPORTS
• Sub-Saharan Africa: SuperSport
• East Africa: Azam TV, TBC Tanzania, KBC Kenya
• South Africa: SABC Sport
• Francophone Africa: Canal+

The complete list of global broadcasters is here.

Al Jazeera Sport will also bring you live coverage of select matches.

Motsepe began his inspection visit for Afcon 2027 in Tanzania before touring Kenya, where he inspected two venues in Nairobi: Kasarani Stadium and the newly constructed 60,000-capacity Talanta Stadium.

BBC Sport Africa understands that one of the main areas of concern in Kenya is the Kasarani and its corresponding training facility.

The stadium is set to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, which Nairobi was awarded on Tuesday ahead of London and Rome.

When Caf conducted its previous inspection in mid-February, the local organisers were told that stadiums and their associated training facilities should be around 80% ready by August.

However, Kasarani has seen limited progress over the past seven months, with several areas still requiring attention.

One of the biggest challenges is the playing surface, which is yet to be laid. Work is also required on cabling for broadcast and television operations, floodlights and the stadiums’ sky boxes.

Motsepe also pointed to the demands created by hosting hundreds of VIPs and heads of state, saying some stadium designs will need to be reconfigured.

“Security issues in relation to where the special guests, particularly the heads of state, will be seated requires a revision of the original plans,” the 64-year-old explained.

Kenya’s cabinet secretary for sports Salim Mvurya insisted preparations would be completed on time.

“I assure Caf and Kenyans we will accelerate the preparations for Afcon 2027,” Mvurya said.

“We will conclude everything by December to be sure we can have test matches in the various facilities.”