What the CAF stadium inspection actually found
Lists of AFCON 2027 stadiums circulate widely, complete with capacities and roles. CAF has confirmed none of them. Its own explainer published in June 2026 states that the venues and host cities are yet to be officially confirmed.
Behind that sentence sits an inspection carried out between 11 and 17 February 2026 across all three host countries. Its conclusion was blunt: none of the proposed competition stadiums met the standard required for the tournament.
The findings were specific
The problems were not vague. In Nairobi, the inspection called for pitch reconstruction, floodlighting to 3,000 lux, security systems, media facilities and the separation of spectator flows at the existing main stadium. A separate dispute concerns executive boxes: CAF asks for 61, the Kenyan side intends to keep 14, citing structural integrity.
In Kampala, the main national stadium requires partial demolition, and the 15-month schedule proposed for the work was rejected as incompatible with the tournament timetable. In Hoima, a ground opened only in December 2025, inspectors recorded no separation between spectator categories, crossing routes for media, VIPs, teams and the public, non-compliant dressing rooms and a mixed zone inside the competition area.
In Dar es Salaam, the requirement is full pitch reconstruction with agronomic stabilisation, lighting of at least 2,500 lux and power redundancy. On Zanzibar, the role of one ground remains formally undecided: CAF has been waiting since February for the government to say whether it will be a match venue or a training base.
Why we leave capacities blank
Sources disagree, sometimes sharply. The Kampala stadium is the clearest case: figures before renovation range from 38,000 to 45,202, while the stated target moved from 60,000 in March 2026 to "more than 50,000" in June. We publish no capacity for it at all, because there is no reliable number to publish.
The next milestone is an inspection scheduled for August 2026, which requires at least 80 per cent completion. Every ground on our venues page carries its status and the findings recorded against it.