Ethiopia has formally submitted its bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2028, which would be its first in more than half a century.
The Ethiopian Football Federation confirmed its bid in a post on X late Monday. It last hosted the continental tournament in 1976.
Ethiopia has the second biggest population in Africa, with around 130 million people, and its capital serves as the headquarters of the African Union (AU). It has the highest altitude of any African capital at 2 300 metres.
The bid faces numerous obstacles, including ongoing insurgencies in the country’s two most populous states, Amhara and Oromia, as well as threats of renewed civil war between the federal government and the northern Tigray region.
The Ethiopian team ranks 143rd out of 211 by FIFA, and it last played in the biennial AFCON tournament in 2022, when it was eliminated in the group stage.
“Ethiopia has formally submitted its bid to CAF to host AFCON 2028,” its federation said on X, “reaffirming the nation’s full readiness to host Africa’s biggest footballing event.”
The biennial AFCON was last hosted by Morocco, while next year’s tournament will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The tournament will shift to a new schedule, to be held every four years from 2028, to align with other FIFA competitions.
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which are facing deadly violence from jihadist groups, have expressed their desire to co-host AFCON 2032, according to their football federations.
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