AFCON 2027 should unlock business opportunities across East Africa

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations should leave East Africans with long-term business opportunities and a lasting infrastructure legacy, Local Organising Committee chairman Nicholas Musonye has said.

Speaking during the Sportsbiz Africa activation at Serena Hotel, Musonye said preparations were being structured to give local enterprises a meaningful role in the tournament, which will be jointly staged by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

“We have huge business opportunities for our people. We have developed a structure that we want our people to participate in the procurement process of the activities that we are going to undertake,” Musonye said.

He explained that the tournament would require a broad range of goods and services, creating openings for local companies, while merchandising would provide further opportunities for traders and players in the informal economy.

“We want our people to benefit from this Afcon. We don't want to have an Afcon, then people go home without anything. We want our businessmen, our mwananchi and our Jua Kali to benefit from this event,” he said.

Tourism is another area the organisers intend to leverage, with the LOC partnering with Magical Kenya and the Kenya Tourism Board to develop packages designed to attract visitors ahead of the tournament, throughout the competition and beyond.

“We want to take advantage of Afcon to promote tourism in this country and in the region in general,” Musonye said.

Beyond the economic impact, Musonye expects AFCON 2027 to speed up the development of sports facilities in Kenya. He cited the Talanta Sports City project as well as ongoing work at Kasarani and Kipchoge Keino Stadium.

“For a very long time, our infrastructure was wanting. But now we have the main stadium, Talanta. We are renovating Kasarani, and we are working on Kipchoge Keino Stadium,” he said.

“Our infrastructure is going to be one of the best in Africa. Our teams and our athletes will enjoy these facilities for a long time. This is going to be a legacy we are going to leave behind after Afcon.”

Musonye also issued a warning against corruption, promising firm action against anyone found misusing resources allocated to the tournament.

“No one is going to misbehave with this Afcon. If we detect anyone who is going to misbehave with this Afcon, we'll get him out,” he said. “We want to utilise this money well so that we organise a good tournament, a tournament that will be remembered.”

On the wider Pamoja bid, Musonye said efforts were ongoing to introduce a common visa arrangement that would make travel between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania easier during the tournament.

Security, he added, would remain a central component of preparations. He also called on the three host nations to ensure their national teams are capable of competing at the highest level rather than merely taking part.

“We want our Harambee Stars, Taifa Stars of Tanzania and Cranes of Uganda to be strong,” he said.

“Out of the four semi-finals that we are going to have, we must have a team in that semi-final, or two. We want to organise an event and compete to win, not just to participate.”

Musonye said the three national football federations should use high-quality international friendlies after the qualifiers to strengthen their squads and prepare them to compete against Africa's leading teams.