Patrice Motsepe, President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has nudged Sierra Leone to bid for the African Cup of Nations during a courtesy call to President Maada Bio at the State Lodge and also when addressing football stakeholders at the Radisson Blu hotel.

Motsepe said: “CAF and FIFA are committed to supporting Sierra Leone with the requisite infrastructure to host the African Cup of Nations in the not-too-distant future.”

The next Cup of Nations will be hosted in Cameroon, and the subsequent two will be in West Africa in Ivory Coast and Guinea. If Sierra Leone are to successfully bid for 2027 Afcon, it will be the third country in a row from West Africa to host the continental showpiece.

Hosting the Afcon will be a massive socio-economic boost for a country that was devastated by a decade long bloody civil war which started in March 1991.