Ethiopia Wants AFCON 2028 and Is Racing to Build Its Stadiums
Fifty-two years after it last hosted, Addis Ababa is bidding again. The tournament needs six venues and the country currently has one that qualifies. The post Ethiopia Wants AFCON 2028 and Is Racing to Build Its Stadiums appeared first on The Rio Times .
Ethiopia has submitted another bid to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), as reported on August 24, 2024 by the Ethiopian Football Federation. This is the second bid Ethiopia has made to host the tournament, with the first being in January 2026. If successful, Ethiopia would join Morocco and a joint bid from Botswana and South Africa as one of the three countries vying for the honor.
Ethiopia currently has two stadiums approved by CAF for international matches - Dire Dawa, which was approved in March 2026, and Bahir Dar, approved this month. These improvements are significant as Ethiopia had no stadiums licensed for international play for five years due to previous inspection failures. However, the main stadium in Addis Ababa, the Adey Abeba national stadium, is still unfinished.
Construction began in 2016 but stalled due to a contract dispute, and restarted after a new deal with a Chinese construction company in March 2025, with completion expected in 2027.
The competition for the 2028 AFCON host is fierce, with Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe also planning a joint bid. Morocco, although listed by CAF, has not publicly confirmed its bid. Ethiopia's bid faces the challenge of hosting a 24-team tournament in under two years, given the limited number of stadiums and the ongoing construction of the main national stadium.
Additionally, Ethiopia has to navigate security concerns, with parts of the country affected by armed conflict, including the region of Mekele, one of the proposed host cities.
While the deadline for bid documents was February 2026, Ethiopia's bid was submitted in August 2024, suggesting a strong commitment despite the late submission. The Ethiopian Football Federation claims the bid meets all requirements and has the backing of the federal government, though CAF has not confirmed receiving the file yet. As the continent prepares to switch to a four-year AFCON cycle starting in 2028, Ethiopia aims to capitalize on this change while competing with the southern African joint bid.
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