South Africa and Zimbabwe could find themselves jointly hosting the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after Botswana pulled out of the proposed three-country bid.
The three neighbouring Southern African countries had initially expressed an interest in joining forces to bring the continent’s biggest football tournament to the region, but Botswana’s government has since declined to provide the financial guarantee required to support the country’s participation.
Botswana subsequently failed to submit its required bidding documents by the 14 September 2026 CAF deadline, while South Africa and Zimbabwe proceeded with their submissions, backed by government guarantees.
The withdrawal means the original three-nation proposal has now effectively become a South Africa-Zimbabwe joint bid.
The initial proposal was expected to spread the tournament across the three neighbouring countries, with Botswana’s Gaborone and Francistown among the proposed venues. The joint approach was also intended to share the logistical and financial demands of staging the expanded continental tournament.
However, Botswana’s government reportedly cited financial constraints and competing national priorities in deciding not to provide the required backing.
The development leaves South Africa and Zimbabwe to continue the process with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as they seek the rights to host the 2028 tournament.
For South Africa, a successful bid would provide another opportunity to stage AFCON after the country hosted the tournament in 2013. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, would be involved in hosting the continent’s premier men’s football tournament for the first time as part of a joint bid.
CAF will ultimately assess the submitted bids and determine the host or hosts of the 2028 AFCON.
For now, however, the Southern African bid has been reduced from three countries to two, with South Africa and Zimbabwe carrying on the campaign without Botswana.