Gayton McKenzie confident in 2028 AFCON hosting rights 'it's definitely coming; I mean Bafana Bafana are on a roll' as South Africa is set to place joint bid with four countries

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has promised to push and have the country host the Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2028.

Should the bid see the light of day, it will be the first time South Africa will host Africa for the finals since 2013, when it stepped in after Libya was unable to.

The deadline for submission of bids has been set to be February 1, and McKenzie is confident South Africa, along with its neighbours, will be ready.

"The Africa Cup of Nations should come here. If we don't host it in 2028, then we'll go two decades without having the African Cup of Nations on this side. You must know, we've never applied for the Africa Cup of Nations; the last time it was Libya, we were standing in,” McKenzie said, as per SABC Sports.

"So, the time has come for us to apply and to get it. It's definitely coming; I mean, Bafana Bafana is on a roll."

"Yeah, the deadline is Sunday. Tomorrow we will be putting in our official intention to host it, and we want to host it with Namibia; we want to host it with Botswana. Lesotho has now sent me a letter; they also want to be part of it, and so does Mozambique. So, the more the merrier; we can share the games, but for me, Southern Africa, Kenako, it's our time,” the minister added.

The 2028 AFCON edition will be the last in the two-year cycle of the competition before it fully transitions to a four-year calendar. CAF President Patrice Motsepe recently announced in Morocco that Africa will move from the two-year cycle in order for AFCON to be synchronised with other competitions, including the World Cup.

Since 1968, AFCON has always been hosted every two years, with a one-year gap between the 2012 and 2013 editions.

Apart from changes in the AFCON calendar, Motsepe announced the introduction of the African Nations League, which will take place annually from 2029.

"We have the most exciting new structure for African football," Motsepe said.

"I do what is in the interests of Africa. The global calendar has to be significantly more synchronised and harmonised."

This debate is far from settled, as CAF's plan divided the opinion right in the middle. Although Motsepe and his CAF administration back the changes, some top figures in African football oppose the move.

One of those who has expressed his concern is Pitso Mosimane, a Champions League winner with Mamelodi Sundowns and a three-time Premier Soccer League title winner with Masandawana.

"The AFCON, held every two years, also helps fast-track infrastructure development because countries have to build stadiums. I support the decision to spread the 2027 AFCON in East Africa, which will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda," Mosimane argued recently.

"This will leave a lasting legacy for Tanzanian football. I remember a while back when we went to play in Tanzania. The stadium we were going to play in was good, and so was the hotel. But the training venue that was in an elite sports complex in Dar es Salaam, which we were given, was not good enough.

"When I returned to Tanzania recently for an event by Yanga, that training venue had improved," Mosimane stated.

"That probably happened because of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) that Tanzania co-hosted, as they needed to not only have world-class stadiums for the tournament but also provide good training pitches for the teams involved."

In terms of infrastructure, South Africa is capable of hosting the continent for the finals. In 2010, the country hosted the globe for the FIFA World Cup finals.