Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said "common sense" led AFCON organisers to award East Africa the 2027 hosting rights.
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania had placed a joint bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) games, and their application was successful. An announcement of their approved bid was made on Wednesday.
A joint hosting bid by Nigeria and Benin, who were competing against the three East African nations, was unsuccessful.
"Common sense showed even the assessors, I am sure, that that Pan-African effort was, logically, the most attractive (parameter), apart from any other considerations. We can only benefit more if we extend this logic to other areas,” Museveni said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
"Also, pooling together the sports infrastructure, e.g. stadia, made our bid more attractive," he added.
'Unimpeachable' decision
"I salute the African sporting authorities for this logically unimpeachable decision. May God bless East Africa, may God bless its people."
On Wednesday, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu ordered the country’s sports ministry to "make adequate preparations, including completing the construction of two modern stadia in Arusha and Dodoma."
"I congratulate everyone who worked hard to ensure our joint bid sails through," she said on X.
Kenya’s William Ruto said the successful hosting bid has "put to shame people who doubted the region’s chances of hosting AFCON games in 2027."
"We will mobilise resources, we will mobilise every person and every sector to make sure that we deliver a world-class football event in 2027," Ruto said in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Morocco won the rights to host the AFCON 2025 games.
