Namibia and Botswana’s joint Bid Committee for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will soon commence with a status audit exercise for essential facilities such as stadia, hotels, airports, and medical and broadcast facilities, amongst others.
The status audit exercise will be conducted in both countries as Namibia and Botswana continue their groundwork in a quest to launch an unmatched bid to jointly host the 36th edition of the 2027 Afcon.
While the Confederation of African Football (Caf) has yet to officially open the bid process and release guidelines, the joint bid committee for BONA 2027, as the joint bid is known, is aware that as a minimum, the successful hosts would have to provide at least six competition venues, two dozen training venues, hundreds of good quality hotel rooms for teams and officials, as well as good road and air network systems, amongst others.
“It is against this backdrop that the audit is being carried out – such that the BONA 2027 can continue advising the governments of Botswana and Namibia for planning purposes. BONA 2027 has also put into effect stakeholder and lobbying strategies, with meetings already held with some key stakeholders in both countries as well as the Southern African region. More engagements are planned, especially in July and August, and these are to extend even outside of Southern Africa. To ensure that they are fully supported to deliver on our mandate, BONA 2027 will set up a secretariat,” said BONA 2027 chairman Ashford Mamelodi.
“We are doing everything humanly possible to be ready as we are well aware that it is going to be a very competitive bid. Some of the countries that are said to be interested in hosting 2027 have previously hosted the Afcon and as it can be imagined, they already have most of the infrastructure in place. We are of course happy that even before we started thinking about bidding for this continental showpiece, both governments were already doing a lot in terms of improving roads, airports, health and other facilities. We are confident that we will put a compelling bid and will be ready to host Africa and the world in 2027,” added Mamelodi.
Meanwhile, BONA 2027 vice chairperson John Muinjo shared that with the level of support shown by the two governments, the bid will be to beat for the 2027 competition – more so given the advantages the two countries have when compared to most in the continent.
Muinjo allayed fears that the lack of CAF accredited facilities in Namibia could negatively affect the prospects of the bid, stating that work is already well underway to improve Namibian football facilities to CAF standards – and that most significantly, major rehabilitation as well as new construction is to be carried out well before 2027.
Although a sport event, the 2027 AFCON is expected to leave a lasting legacy in the host countries, including in the areas of health, transport, hospitality, television, sport and the economy – and it is no wonder there are so many countries interested in hosting the premier football event of the continent.
- ohembapu@nepc.com.na