Football
Exclusive: Ethiopia Eyes AFCON 2029 Hosting Rights
Ethiopia aims to host AFCON 2029, with backing from the government and a bid to improve stadium infrastructure, despite challenges in meeting CAF standards
Ethiopia FA.
Ethiopia is gearing up to inquire about staging the 2029 African Cup of Nations as confirmed by the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) president Esayas Jira.
Jira, also a member of CAF executive committee, confirmed the new development during the EFF general assembly. Ethiopia last staged AFCON in 1976 where Morocco crowned champions.
EFF Contemplating to Stage the big event
Ethiopia FA.
Jira said EFF have a backing of the government to go through the bidding process. “We want to stage AFCON after four years. This has been agreed on and we will definitely bid for the hosting rights,” Isayas told SportsBoom.com.
“EFF is banking on the support of the Federal government in a bid to host the tournament. “Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has already gave the green light to start the process,” Jira added.
Prime Minister Ahmed recently showed interest in football. He was seen playing football games with the likes of Nigerian stars Nwankwo Kanu and Daniel Amokachi in Addis Ababa. The Prime Minister took a full responsibility of completing the 60,000 seater Adey Abeba Stadium in the capital.
Premier League Company Head Wary
Ethiopia planning to host AfCON 2029 is a major talking point. Nonetheless, the head of the Ethiopian Premier League Share Company Lieutenant Fekade Mamo is unfazed by the new development.
Mamo states the league is being forced to be played only in one stadium due to the fact that Ethiopia don’t have a CAF and FIFA accredited stadium.
“Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic we are using only a few stadiums to play league games. It has been four years since the Addis Ababa stadium staged competitive games. Bahir Dar stadium is not functioning. "We are left with the Dire Dawa National Stadiums. We are forced to use the ground for all games. We don’t have any other option.”
Both Jira and Cherent believe staging AFCON will ultimately solve stadium problems in Ethiopia. Cherent affirmed the government is focused in completing the stadiums to CAF and FIFA requirement.
“We are working tirelessly to complete the construction of the Adey Abeba Stadium. The government got funding from a foreign country to complete the stadium. We want the stadium to host AFCON 2029 games,” Cherent stated.
The Federal government got a 50 million USD from the UAE to complete the Adey Abeba Stadium. Ethiopia had been stripped off the 2020 African Nations Championship hosting rights after failing to meet the deadline. Similar scenario is feared to happen after the country failed to construct stadiums even after 2020.
It is true that it took a while to wrap up things at the Stadium. We do have difference with the Federation on how to build the Stadium again. We have to work together to see the Stadium staging big events.
Esayas Jira
Premier League Company Head Wary
Ethiopia planning to host AfCON 2029 is a major talking point. Nonetheless, the head of the Ethiopian Premier League Share Company Lieutenant Fekade Mamo is unfazed by the new development.
Mamo states the league is being forced to be played only in one stadium due to the fact that Ethiopia don’t have a CAF and FIFA accredited stadium.
“Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic we are using only a few stadiums to play league games. It has been four years since the Addis Ababa stadium staged competitive games. Bahir Dar stadium is not functioning. "We are left with the Dire Dawa National Stadiums. We are forced to use the ground for all games. We don’t have any other option.”
Both Jira and Cherent believe staging AFCON will ultimately solve stadium problems in Ethiopia. Cherent affirmed the government is focused in completing the stadiums to CAF and FIFA requirement.
Ethiopia FA.
“We are working tirelessly to complete the construction of the Adey Abeba Stadium. The government got funding from a foreign country to complete the stadium. We want the stadium to host AFCON 2029 games,” Cherent stated.
The Federal government got a 50 million USD from the UAE to complete the Adey Abeba Stadium. Ethiopia had been stripped off the 2020 African Nations Championship hosting rights after failing to meet the deadline. Similar scenario is feared to happen after the country failed to construct stadiums even after 2020.
CAF’s New Strategy a Setback to Ethiopia
CAF has started awarding AFCON hosting rights on a regional base. In 2023 Ivory Coast hosted the tournament and in 2025 Morocco will stage the nations cup. In 2027 CAF jointly awarded the rights to Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Sources close to CAF states it is unlikely that the African body will award the 2029 edition to another CECAFA member. It is most likely a COSAFA member will be awarded to host the Nations Cup.
Jira wants to gather support from member associations when the CAF Congress happens in Addis Ababa from October 19-22. “We will work to lobby member associations so that they can support us in our campaign. The Congress will be key for us. We will work aggressively to convince member associations,” Jira concluded.
Ethiopia last staged a major African competition in 2001 when they staged the African U20 Cup. The founding member of CAF has been contemplating stage the nations cup for a long period of time. EFF and the government believes 2029 can happen.
Omna is a well experienced sport journalist based in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. He has a decade of experience working with local radio stations and football websites covering mainly Ethiopian and African football and sports. Omna previously worked as Ethiopian football contributor for the BBC and CAF.