Ethiopia has formally submitted its bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2028, which would be its first in more than half a century.
The Ethiopian Football Federation confirmed its bid in a post on X late Monday. It last hosted the continental tournament in 1976.
Ethiopia has the second biggest population in Africa, with around 130 million people, and its capital serves as the headquarters of the African Union (AU). It has the highest altitude of any African capital at 2 300 metres.
The bid faces numerous obstacles, including ongoing insurgencies in the country's two most populous states, Amhara and Oromia, as well as threats of renewed civil war between the federal government and the northern Tigray region.
The Ethiopian team ranks 143rd out of 211 by FIFA, and it last played in the biennial AFCON tournament in 2022, when it was eliminated in the group stage.
"Ethiopia has formally submitted its bid to CAF to host AFCON 2028," its federation said on X, "reaffirming the nation's full readiness to host Africa's biggest footballing event."
The biennial AFCON was last hosted by Morocco, while next year's tournament will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The tournament will shift to a new schedule – to be held every four years from 2028, to align with other FIFA competitions.
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which are facing deadly violence from jihadist groups, have expressed their desire to co-host AFCON 2032, according to their football federations.
The Guinean government announced on Friday the country wants to host the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), saying it has "a strong bid".
A government statement sent to AFP says Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah "has officially signed Guinea's application to host the 2032 and 2036 editions of the Afcon". Speaking on Thursday, Bah said Guinea "now has a robust bid, the result of a process of preparation and analysis of the various requirements involved in organising a competition of this scale". He said the bids were in line with the vision of the President of the Republic, Mamadi Doumbouya, "to make Guinea a country capable of hosting major international sporting events". Doumbouya came to power through a coup d'etat in 2021 before being elected president in December 2025. Guinea has never hosted a final phase of the Afcon, and its national team did not take part in the last two editions. Guinea's best performance came in 1976 when they finished as runners-up behind Morocco in the final group. The 2027 edition will be co-hosted by three East African countries - Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania - but the following edition in 2028 has not yet been awarded. From 2028 onward, Afcon will be held every four years instead of every two, to align with the same frequency as other continental competitions. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which are facing deadly violence from jihadist groups, have also expressed their desire to co-host Afcon 2032, according to their football federations.