CAF has issued a request for proposals to companies interested in producing the international television feed for next year's Africa Cup of Nations, formally launching its search for the tournament's host broadcaster.

AFCON 2027 will be the first edition hosted in East Africa in 51 years. It will also continue the 24-team format introduced in 2019 and be the first tournament played under CAF's new four-year competition cycle.

What CAF's AFCON 2027 Broadcast Tender Covers

The request went live on August 3, with CAF stating it wants proposals from established, experienced, and reputable service providers with the technical and operational capacity to deliver host broadcast services.

The tender does not cover the sale of broadcast rights. That's the detail that's easy to miss on a first read. CAF says whoever wins the tender won't be selling the tournament to broadcasters directly. Their role is to produce the international television feed distributed to licensed broadcasters worldwide.

The raw footage and production work that every licensed broadcaster around the world then airs to their own audiences. Interested companies have until 17:00 Cairo time on September 2 to submit proposals to CAF's procurement address.

Proposals must be submitted to CAF's procurement department rather than its media sales division.

How This Tender Differs From CAF's Commercial Rights Process

CAF is running two different tenders simultaneously right now, and it's worth being precise about which is which. This host broadcast tender covers production only and applies specifically to AFCON 2027. A separate tender opened in late July for an entirely different role.

CAF is appointing a commercial rights agency to market and sell global broadcast, media and sponsorship rights for the 2028, 2032 and 2036 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. That commercial rights tender has its own earlier deadline of August 24.

Applicants are directed to a different CAF email address entirely, split between media sales and legal affairs. The two tenders cover different jobs and operate on separate timelines. Treating them as one story risks overlooking the scale of CAF's planning for AFCON 2027.

How Kenya, Uganda And Tanzania Might Complicate AFCON 2027's Broadcast Plans

The tournament itself runs June 19 to July 17, 2027, across all three co-hosts, the region's first AFCON in over five decades. Recent hosts like Morocco and Ivory Coast had existing broadcast infrastructure to build on.

Either from earlier tournaments or established domestic football coverage. East Africa doesn't have that same recent track record to lean on.

The emphasis on technical and operational capacity reflects the scale of delivering a tournament across three host nations.

Meaning, CAF expects whoever wins this to build capability in the region rather than simply bring an experienced crew and existing setup. Also, the 24-team format places significant demands on tournament operations.

More teams mean more matches and, and more venues running at once, will increase the logistical and production challenges for the host broadcaster. However, CAF hasn't explicitly stated it's concerned about East African broadcast infrastructure.

This reasoning came from a logical read of the tender's specific wording and the region's hosting history, not something CAF has said outright.

The Broadcast Benchmark AFCON 2027 Will Aim to Match

The Morocco 2025 tournament closed with a record 20 media rights partnerships across more than 30 European territories alone. That included Channel 4 airing all 52 matches free-to-air in the UK for the first time.

New deals in Spain, Greece and Norway that simply hadn't existed for earlier editions. Matching or beating that commercial reach in 2027, in a new host region with an expanded team count, will be one of the biggest tasks facing whoever wins the host broadcast contract.