Egypt is weighing up a potential bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations in either 2032 or 2036, as the North African nation looks to stage Africa’s flagship football tournament once again.
The North African nation has hosted the continental showpiece five time, with their last coming in 2019. Egypt stepped in as an emergency hosts after Cameroon were stripped off hosting rights by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over delays in preparation for the prestigious tournament.
Egypt successfully staged the expanded 24-team competition in the North African country, with Algeria emerging as champions of the tournament, defeating Senegal in the finals.
Prior to the commencement of the just ended AFCON 2025 in Morocco, CAF president Patrice Motsepe announced that the AFCON tournament will move to a four-year cycle starting from 2028.
However, Egypt, has set sights on bidding for either 2032 or 2036 Africa Cup of Nations hosting rights.
The AFCON has been staged every two years since 1968, with the only exception being a one-year gap between the 2012 and 2013 editions.
The current format will conclude with the 2027 tournament in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, after which the competition will transition to a four-year schedule starting in 2028. Motsepe also revealed plans to introduce an African Nations League, which is expected to be held annually from 2029.
The scheduling of AFCON has been a recurring challenge in recent years. The last three editions were rescheduled, with the 2021 tournament played in 2022 due to infrastructure delays in Cameroon, and the 2023 edition moved to early 2024 for similar reasons.
CAF had previously attempted to shift the tournament from its traditional January to February window to June and July, but only the 2019 edition in Egypt was held during that period, with extreme heat affecting performances.
The recently concluded 2025 Africa Cup of Nations saw Senegal defeating hosts, Morocco to annex the title for the second time in their history. The Atlas Lions hoped to end their 50-year trophy drought on home soil, but the Taranga Lions proved to be a stronger opponent.
