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Ethiopia bids to host Africa Cup of Nations 2028 after 52 years

Ethiopia has formally bid to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations, marking its first time hosting the tournament since 1976. The Ethiopian Football Federation says the country is ready, but security concerns and low rankings pose challenges.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 25, 2026 Published 1h ago

Ethiopia enters race to host 2028 Africa Cup of Nations

Ethiopia has officially entered the race to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations, a bid that could bring the continent's biggest football tournament back to the country for the first time in more than 50 years. The Ethiopian Football Federation has formally submitted its bid to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as reported by both Africa News and goal.com.

Ethiopia last hosted the tournament in 1976, and its bid comes at a time when the host for the 2028 edition remains undecided. According to goal.com, CAF has yet to receive any official bids to stage the tournament, making Ethiopia the first country to announce its intention publicly.

The upcoming 2027 edition is set to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, but who will organise the 2028 tournament is still open, as goal.com put it, "anyone's guess."

A storied history, recent struggles

Ethiopia's footballing history gives the bid a strong emotional footing. The country staged the Africa Cup of Nations in 1962 and 1976, and lifted the trophy on home soil in 1962, according to goal.com. Ethiopia also finished runners-up in the very first edition of the tournament back in 1957.

But recent decades have been less kind. The national team has reached the Africa Cup of Nations only twice this century, qualifying in 2013 and 2021, as reported by goal.com. Ethiopia last appeared at the tournament in 2022, exiting in the group stage, according to Africa News, and currently ranks 143rd in the FIFA world rankings.

Readiness and challenges

The Ethiopian Football Federation says the country is fully ready to host Africa's biggest football event, as reported by Africa News. Ethiopia is Africa's second-most populous nation, with around 130 million people, and its capital, Addis Ababa, is the headquarters of the African Union — factors that could support a bid.

However, the bid faces significant obstacles. Ongoing insurgencies in the Amhara and Oromia regions, along with fears of renewed conflict in Tigray, raise major security concerns, according to Africa News. These issues could weigh heavily on CAF's decision.

A new cycle for AFCON

From 2028, the Africa Cup of Nations will move to a four-year cycle, a change that could reshape the tournament's rhythm and make hosting rights more coveted, as noted by Africa News. Ethiopia's bid aims to seize that opportunity and secure a historic return to the continental stage after more than five decades away.

How each outlet told it

Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC

Framing: Emphasizes Ethiopia's bid after 52 years, highlighting the long absence from hosting and framing it as a potential return. — measured - balanced, noting both readiness and challenges, as seen in 'But the bid faces serious challenges.'

Facts Included:

Ethiopia has officially submitted a bid to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations
Ethiopia last hosted AFCON in 1976
Ethiopia is Africa's second-most populous nation with around 130 million people
Addis Ababa is the headquarters of the African Union
Ongoing insurgencies in Amhara and Oromia, and fears of renewed conflict in Tigray, raise security concerns
Ethiopia ranks 143rd in the world
Ethiopia last appeared at AFCON in 2022, exiting in the group stage
The federation says the country is fully ready to host
AFCON is moving to a four-year cycle from 2028

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goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC

Framing: Headline calls the bid 'the race is officially on' and describes Ethiopia as the first country to bid, emphasizing the competitive aspect and the open status. — neutral/informative - presents facts about the bid process and historical context without overt evaluation, e.g., 'The host for the upcoming edition remains undecided.'

Facts Included:

The Ethiopian Football Federation has announced its country's bid to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations
The host for the upcoming edition remains undecided
CAF has yet to receive any official bids to stage the tournament
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are preparing to co-host the 2027 edition
Ethiopia staged the Africa Cup of Nations in 1962 and 1976
Ethiopia lifted the trophy on home soil in 1962
Ethiopia finished runners-up in the very first edition back in 1957
The national team has reached the Africa Cup of Nations just twice this century, qualifying only in 2013 and 2021

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThe Ethiopian Football Federation has formally submitted a bid to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC, goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimEthiopia last hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 1976.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC, goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimEthiopia is Africa's second-most populous nation, with around 130 million people.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimAddis Ababa is the headquarters of the African Union.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimOngoing insurgencies in Amhara and Oromia, along with fears of renewed conflict in Tigray, raise security concerns for the bid.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimEthiopia ranks 143rd in the FIFA world rankings.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimEthiopia last appeared at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, exiting in the group stage.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimThe Ethiopian Football Federation says the country is fully ready to host Africa's biggest football event.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimAFCON is moving to a four-year cycle from 2028.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Africa News as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimKenya, Uganda and Tanzania are preparing to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimThe host for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations remains undecided.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimCAF has yet to receive any official bids to stage the 2028 tournament.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimEthiopia staged the Africa Cup of Nations in 1962 and 1976.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimEthiopia lifted the Africa Cup of Nations trophy on home soil in 1962.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimEthiopia finished runners-up in the very first Africa Cup of Nations edition in 1957.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimEthiopia has reached the Africa Cup of Nations only twice this century, qualifying in 2013 and 2021.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via goal.com as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: Africa News, goal.com 16 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-25