The Confederation of African Football has opened the bidding process for Sub-Saharan media rights to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Broadcasters and media companies have until 14 September 2026 to submit offers for free-to-air and pay-TV coverage across multiple languages, including English, Swahili, Portuguese, isiZulu, Wolof and Yoruba.
CAF’s announcement formally begins the process of determining how AFCON 2027 will be broadcast across Sub-Saharan Africa. It does not name a successful broadcaster, disclose any bid values, or confirm whether existing rights holders will retain access to the competition.
Bids must be submitted by 17:00 Cairo time on 14 September 2026. The deadline gives potential bidders time to assess the package and prepare their offers before CAF evaluates the submissions.
What Is Included in CAF’s AFCON 2027 Media Rights Tender?
The tender covers the AFCON 2027 final tournament and its qualifying matches. Bidders are therefore competing for rights covering both the qualification process and the finals, rather than the finals alone.
CAF has also included several other competitions in the package, including the 2026 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations, the 2026 Futsal Africa Cup of Nations, the 2027 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, the 2027 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations and the CAF Africa Cup of Nations U-23 in Egypt.
The language provisions are a central part of the tender. CAF has listed English, Swahili, Portuguese, isiZulu, Wolof, Yoruba, and other local languages, allowing broadcasters to target different national and linguistic markets across Sub-Saharan Africa.
French-language pay-TV rights are excluded from the 2027 package, according to CAF’s tender notice. The governing body has not stated why, and the full tender documentation will be needed to determine whether French-language rights remain available through another category.
When and Where Will AFCON 2027 Take Place?
AFCON 2027 is scheduled to take place from 19 June to 17 July 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. CAF’s announcement does not indicate any change to the tournament schedule or hosting arrangements. The next stage is the submission of bids.
CAF has provided media-sales and legal-affairs contacts for organisations seeking further information, but it has not named the interested companies or set a date for announcing the successful rights holders.
CAF also cited a television audience of more than 3.2 billion and six billion digital views for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The bidding outcome will determine which broadcasters and platforms distribute AFCON 2027 across Sub-Saharan Africa and how viewers access the tournament.
For now, CAF has only opened the bidding process. The successful broadcasters and any final media rights agreements have yet to be announced.
