Namibia and Botswana on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) that will see the two countries put up a bid to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The bid will be known as the BONA2027 and will see the two countries work together in an effort to host Africa’s premier football competition.
At the signing event, Namibia was represented by Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Agnes Tjongarero, Acting Director of Sports Irvine Ndjavera, officials from the ministry Rogerdeltry Kambatuku, Timothy Tjongarero, Namibia Football Association (NFA) Acting Secretary-General, Jacqueline Gertze and football expert Tovey ||Hoebeb.
Also forming part of the Namibian delegation was former NFA President, John Muinjo, who is the vice-chairman of the BONA2027 Bid Technical Committee.
Speaking at the signing ceremony which took place in Gaborone, Botswana, Tjongarero said the two governments have agreed to collaborate on a 60:40 resource sharing principle.
“That means that Botswana will contribute 60 per cent of the resources needed for the project, and Namibia will contribute 40 per cent. The same principle shall apply in sharing of proceeds and benefits of hosting AFCON 2027,” she explained.
She further stated that the idea of hosting this major tournament has the blessings for the two heads of state, Hage Geingob and Mokgweetsi Masisi who met and agreed on the possible co-hosting by the two governments.
This was followed by the two governments agreeing in February 2022 to co-host and ever since officials from the two countries have tirelessly been working together, to date.
According to Tjongarero, the MoA will formally facilitate the establishment of the Bid Technical Committee, enable the production of the bid document for submission to the Confederation of African Football, lobby for support from various international structures, and work through the formal bidding process for Botswana and Namibia to secure the rights to jointly host the finals of the AFCON 2027, amongst others.
If the bid is successful, Namibia will host the Opening Ceremony while Botswana will host the Closing Ceremony and both the third-place playoff and Final match.
Botswana will host 24 of the 36 group stage matches, with Namibia hosting 12. In the round of the 16 and eighth stages, Botswana will host five games and Namibia will host three matches.
The quarter-finals and the semi-finals will be shared equally between the two countries.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
