Botswana to decide on 2028 AFCON bid
Mqondisi Dube | Monday February 16, 2026 09:09
The deadline to submit bids was February 1, with the CAF executive committee due to meet in Tanzania tomorrow, where the issue is expected to be on the agenda.
Botswana authorities are yet to come out in the open regarding the status of the bid, with much of the information relayed from South Africa.
During the recent AFCON finals, South Africa's Sport minister, Gayton Mackenzie, indicated they were considering a joint bid with Botswana.
Media reports list the Botswana, South Africa joint bid, along with that of Ethiopia, Egypt, and Morocco, as the official bids for the 2028 edition.
The Minister of Sport and Arts, Jacob Kelebeng, said they are still to discuss the project internally.
'We are still doing our own in-house talks to determine the viability and exactly what we want. We will update in due course once we are done with all necessary consultations,' he said.
However, the minister confirmed that both the Botswana Football Association and the South Africa Football Association had submitted a joint bid.
'Our football federations are the ones who jointly submitted the bid. 'We will definitely provide clarity in due course,' he said.
Governments act as guarantors to CAF, which is mandatory in the bidding process, meaning the BFA would have to seek the ministry's approval first before submitting the bid.
BFA president, Tariq Babitseng, had not responded to MmegiSport enquiries at press time, while outgoing CEO, Mfolo Mfolo, said he was constrained to comment.
Botswana made an unsuccessful attempt to host the 2027 edition under the previous Botswana Democratic Party administration, in a process that was clouded in controversy. The bid book, which cost P61 million, was the subject of a parliamentary probe, which has, however, stalled.