Ghana is racing against time to be ready to host the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2027.

In April 2026, CAF announced that it has awarded the hosting rights of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2027 to Ghana.

The tournament will bring together Africa’s finest youth talents, offering a platform for the next generation of stars to showcase their abilities on a global stage.

Four months after the award of the hosting rights, Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, who is the Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), has admitted that the country is not ready.

However, he has assured that preparations are ongoing and the country will be ready to host the rest of Africa before the tournament kicks off.

“African U20 AFCON, which is now very big. I mean, it's always been a strong tournament. I know CAF has notified the Ghana Football Association with regard to the hosting. What happens next is processes, and the NSA's job is to give communication as to the readiness, or otherwise, of our facilities. And you asked, are we ready? What's today's date? The 12th of August. We can't play the AFCON in any of our venues tomorrow if we had to, but we can prepare if we put things in place,” he told SportyFM.

Ampofo Ankrah continued, Obviously, it's all about funding, and also it's about improving the structures that CAF would want you to have in place. And at this moment, we are in we're in transition to trying to improve our venues, including the grass.

“So we need time to prepare for that. And once the final green light comes from CAF, the roadmap would be put in place, and hopefully, we'll be able to beat certain deadlines to host the tournament.”

Ghana will hope to have many of the facilities to be used for next year’s U20 AFCON ready by the close of the year.

Hosting the 2027 U-20 AFCON is expected to further enhance football development in the country while also boosting infrastructure and local economies.

It also presents an opportunity for Ghana to once again demonstrate its organisational capabilities after successfully hosting several CAF- and FIFA-sanctioned tournaments in the past.