This is how we won 2027 bid, Tanzania Sports Minister reveals

In Dar es Salaam

Tanzania’s Minister of Arts, Culture, and Sports, Damas Ndumbaro, has revealed how the East Africa Pamoja bid succeeded in winning the rights to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Speaking with The Citizen through telephone from Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday, Ndumbaro said that commitments from the three heads of state, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, President William Ruto of Kenya, and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, were front and centre on the bid, which all East African countries are celebrating.

Ndumbaro said ministries responsible for sports, national sports councils, football governing bodies, and stakeholders from the three countries were vital for the Pamoja bid to beat rival presentations.

He said that the three countries competed with the African football powerhouses and made the bid battle tough and most unpredictable.

“Three heads of state were in front of the bid. They have supported the move since the start, and we are now celebrating the victory despite the fact that we contested against Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria, and Botswana, who were supported by all the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. 

“You can see how the task was very tough. Our cooperation, hospitality, and others made us win. We thank all CAF’s executive committee members who voted for us to win the bid. It is going to make history, as our plan is to make the historic Africa Cup of Nations finals,” said Ndumbaro.

Not far away

He explained that 2027 was not far away, and after returning home, they will prepare an intensive schedule for the three ministers to discuss the preparations for the tournament.

Sudan hosted Afcon in 1957 and 1970, while Ethiopia hosted in 1962, 1968, and 1976.

National Sports Council (NSC) secretary general, Neema Msitha, said they are going to organise a historic 2027 Afcon.

Msitha, who was one of the delegates attending the voting exercise, called on all football stakeholders to give them support for a successful Afcon finals.

Kenya and Tanzania have only one venue each that meets CAF minimum standards while Uganda has none, which in fact forced their national teams to play the 2023 Cup of Nations qualifiers at neutral venues.

Taking the tournament to East Africa follows a statement this year by CAF president Patrice Motsepe that he did not want successive tournaments in the same region.

Meanwhile, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said Tanzania will make good preparations ahead of hosting the Afcon finals.

Samia said that through her Twitter account. “I congratulate all of you who participated to ensure that our country gets this wonderful opportunity. I instruct the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Sports to ensure that we make good preparations, including the completion on time and with high quality of two new modern football stadiums in Arusha and Dodoma”.