The football federations of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have announced their intention to submit a joint bid to host the 2032 Africa Cup of Nations, while a source at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed that the move remains a declaration of intent and has not yet become an official candidacy.

CAF: Bidding window still open

A source from CAF's competitions department told AFP that CAF has opened the door for bids to host the 2028, 2032 and 2036 editions, after adopting a four-year cycle starting from 2028, noting that the deadline for receiving bid files has not yet been set.

He added that the three federations have already sent a declaration of interest in hosting the 2032 edition, but the bid is not yet complete and remains in its early stages.

Meeting with Motsepe to support the bid

Officials from the Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso federations participated last Saturday in a working meeting in New York with CAF President Patrice Motsepe, as part of preparations for the joint bid.

The Mali Football Federation stressed that the meeting is an important step towards preparing a comprehensive bid, and that the three federations will continue working in the coming period to prepare a file that meets all CAF requirements and regulations.

Hosting criteria to decide the winner

The source indicated that CAF will evaluate all submitted bids after their completion, before conducting inspection visits to the candidate countries, prior to selecting the host country or countries according to approved technical and organizational criteria.

Burkina Faso previously hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 1998, while Mali hosted the 2002 edition, and Niger has never hosted the tournament.

In recent years, Mali and Burkina Faso have seen notable development in sports infrastructure. Mali has five CAF-approved stadiums, while the Stade du 4-Août in Ouagadougou received approval in 2025. Meanwhile, Niger continues development work on the Général Seyni Kountché Stadium to meet continental standards and regain the right to host international matches.