Guinea launches bids to host 2032 and 2036 Afcon

Guinea has officially launched bids to host the 2032 and 2036 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), with the government saying the country now has “a robust bid” to stage the continent’s biggest football tournament.

The announcement was made on Friday after Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah signed the country’s official application for both editions of the competition.

Speaking a day earlier, Bah said Guinea’s bid was the result of extensive preparation and analysis of the requirements needed to host a tournament of Afcon’s scale.

He added that the applications reflected President Mamadi Doumbouya’s ambition to make Guinea capable of staging major international sporting events.

Doumbouya seized power in a military coup in 2021 before being elected president in December 2025.

Guinea yet to host tournament

Guinea has never hosted the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, while its national team has also missed qualification for the last two editions of the tournament.

The country’s best Afcon performance came in 1976, when it finished as runners-up to Morocco.

The next edition of the tournament, in 2027, will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda under the East Africa Pamoja bid.

The 2028 tournament has yet to be awarded, with Afcon set to move to a four-year cycle from that edition onwards instead of being held every two years.

Guinea could also face competition for the 2032 tournament from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, whose football federations have said the three neighbouring countries want to submit a joint hosting bid despite ongoing security challenges linked to jihadist violence.