Football: Ethiopia officially a candidate to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations

Ethiopia, a country plagued by several armed conflicts, has officially submitted its bid to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), the Ethiopian Football Federation announced Monday evening.

The country, which last hosted the continental competition in 1976, announced earlier this year its intention to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations, but had not yet officially submitted a bid.

Armed groups are clashing with federal forces in Ethiopia's two most populous regional states, Amhara and Oromia, and growing tensions in Tigray raise the risk of a new war, after the 2020-2022 war that killed 600,000 people.

The Horn of Africa nation, the second most populous on the continent with some 130 million inhabitants, is ranked 143rd (out of 211) in the FIFA rankings, and its last participation in the Africa Cup of Nations dates back to the 2021 edition in Cameroon. The country was eliminated in the first round.

"Ethiopia has officially submitted its bid" to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) "to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations," the Ethiopian Football Federation wrote on X on Monday evening, claiming to have the support of the federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

This bid "meets all the requirements and reaffirms that the country is fully prepared to host Africa's biggest football event," the federation continued.

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is the headquarters of the African Union (AU). Located at an altitude of over 2,300 meters, it is also the highest capital city in Africa and one of the highest in the world.

The last Africa Cup of Nations took place this winter in Morocco. The next edition will be co-hosted in 2027 by three East African countries: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The next AFCON will take place in 2028, then every four years - instead of every two years until now - to align with the periodicity of other FIFA competitions.