Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger launch bid for 2032 Afcon

What the report says

BBC News reports that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have submitted a joint bid to host the 2032 Africa Cup of Nations, after the Confederation of African Football opened applications for the 2028, 2032 and 2036 editions of the tournament. The Malian Football Federation said the proposal would be based on solidarity, regional integration and sustainable development, and that it would work with authorities on a credible bid for the continental championship.

The three Sahel neighbours are all led by military governments and last year formally left the regional bloc Ecowas after creating the Alliance of Sahel States, a grouping intended to deepen cooperation in areas including security, infrastructure and trade. BBC notes that Burkina Faso and Mali have each hosted Afcon before, in 1998 and 2002 respectively, while Niger has only appeared at the finals twice. The 2027 tournament in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda is set to be the first Afcon with three co-hosts.

Caf president Patrice Motsepe told BBC Sport Africa that the countries would have the same opportunity as other bidders, while acknowledging that safety and security would have to be assessed. He said Caf must be satisfied on issues such as free movement for fans, policing, protection of visitors and infrastructure before awarding hosting rights. Motsepe also said Caf’s executive committee, not him alone, would choose hosts for the next three editions.

BBC reported that football officials from the three countries met Motsepe in New York ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup final. The bid comes amid continuing jihadist violence in the region and a shift by the three governments away from traditional Western security partners toward closer ties with Russia.