An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease
Tubarões Azuis (Blue Sharks)
AFCON quarter-finalists in 2013 and 2023. Cape Verde open qualifying against Mali on 25 September 2026.
Road to AFCON 2027
Group K
Cape Verde
Current status: Qualifying
The top two in the group qualify for the finals. Six matches: home and away against each opponent.
No qualifier has been played yet — the table appears here after the first matchday.
Checked 21 September 2026 against CAF’s draw and fixture list.CAF fixtures
The number that defines Cape Verde
3
Defeats in 16 AFCON finals matches
Five wins, eight draws and only three defeats across four tournaments, through Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
Iconic moment · 2013
Opening match · Johannesburg
Making their AFCON debut in the tournament’s opening game, Cape Verde held hosts South Africa 0–0 – the first goalless opening match in the competition’s history. Their first goal at the finals followed four days later, from Platini against Morocco.
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The team now
Goalkeeper · Colo-Colo
Kept clean sheets against Spain and Saudi Arabia at the 2026 World Cup, aged 40, and is among the nominees for the Ballon d’Or goalkeeper of the year award.
Midfielder · Krasnodar
Scored Cape Verde’s first World Cup goal, against Uruguay in June 2026, and also scored against Mozambique at AFCON 2023.
Forward · Apollon Limassol
Scored the stoppage-time winner against Ghana in Cape Verde’s first match at AFCON 2023.
From the 26-man squad named on 18 September 2026 for Mali (away, 25 Sep) and Rwanda (home, 29 Sep) in AFCON 2027 qualifying. Clubs as at that announcement.
AFCON 2027 packages
Follow the Tubarões Azuis to East Africa. Each trip works from any host country, so it holds whichever group Cape Verde land in.
Fan5 nightsAny host country
A short trip built around a single fixture
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Supporter8 nightsAny host country
Two fixtures, one trip
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Supporter14 nightsAny host country
Travel with your side through the rounds
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Flights, hotels and match-day transport are quoted for your departure city — airlines and hotels have not released AFCON-period rates, so we price your exact trip rather than publish a guess.
Travelling from
Routing, journey time and entry requirements depend on your departure country.
Host countries
Explore the three host nations while we wait for Cape Verde’s official finals journey to be determined.
Safari country and East Africa’s busiest gateway
Kenya combines the region’s most connected international airport with the Maasai Mara and the Kenyan coast, making it the natural base for supporters who want football and safari in one trip.
Plan my tripZanzibar, Serengeti and the Indian Ocean
Tanzania offers the strongest holiday extension of the three hosts — Zanzibar’s beaches and the northern safari circuit are both within easy reach of the mainland gateways.
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The source of the Nile and gorilla country
Uganda is the most compact of the three hosts, with Entebbe close to Kampala and adventure travel — rafting at Jinja, gorilla trekking in the southwest — within reach of a tournament trip.
Plan my tripTickets are issued only through CAF’s authorised official ticketing. Travel Ease is not a ticket seller — we help you follow official Cape Verde ticket updates and build your journey around confirmed matches.
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SAFARI3 daysMaasai Mara
Kenya’s best-known reserve, reachable by light aircraft or road from Nairobi between match days.
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CITY1 dayNairobi
The national park on the city edge, the elephant orphanage and Karen — a full day without leaving Nairobi.
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BEACH4 daysZanzibar
The classic post-tournament wind-down: white sand, warm water and Stone Town, a short hop from Dar es Salaam.
Add to my tripThe story behind the shirt
The full story, the title years, the moments, the legends and every tournament — researched from CAF and dated where it can change.
Cape Verde’s AFCON legacy
Cape Verde’s AFCON story began on the tournament’s biggest stage: the opening match of South Africa 2013, against the hosts in Johannesburg. It finished 0–0 – the first goalless opening game in the competition’s history – and eight days later Fernando Varela and Héldon turned a 1–0 deficit against Angola into a 2–1 win in the last ten minutes, taking the Blue Sharks into the quarter-finals of their first tournament.
They have been back three times since, and have lost only three of their 16 finals matches. The best of those campaigns was Côte d’Ivoire 2023: Cape Verde topped a group containing Egypt and Ghana, beat Mauritania in the round of 16 and left the tournament unbeaten, edged out on penalties by South Africa after a goalless quarter-final.
They have been back three times since, and have lost only three of their 16 finals matches. The best of those campaigns was Côte d’Ivoire 2023: Cape Verde topped a group containing Egypt and Ghana, beat Mauritania in the round of 16 and left the tournament unbeaten, edged out on penalties by South Africa after a goalless quarter-final.
Then came the leap. After finishing bottom of their qualifying group for Morocco 2025, Bubista’s side reached their first World Cup in 2026, drew with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, and became the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout rounds before losing 3–2 to Argentina after extra time.
Humberto Bettencourt, Bubista’s successor, starts the road to East Africa in Group K with Mali, Rwanda and Liberia – away to Mali in Bamako on 25 September, then Rwanda in Praia four days later. The top two qualify.
Iconic moments
2013
Group A · Port Elizabeth
An own goal put Angola ahead before half-time. Fernando Varela equalised in the 81st minute and Héldon won it in stoppage time, sending Cape Verde through as group runners-up on their debut. Ghana ended the run 2–0 in the quarter-final.
2024
Group B · Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire 2023
Garry Rodrigues’ stoppage-time goal beat Ghana 2–1, Mozambique were beaten 3–0 and a 2–2 draw with Egypt sealed first place with seven points.
2024
Quarter-final · Yamoussoukro
After a 1–0 win over Mauritania, Cape Verde held South Africa goalless for 120 minutes and went out 2–1 on penalties – unbeaten in their five matches at the tournament.
AFCON legends
Coach · 2013
Took Cape Verde to the quarter-finals at their first AFCON.
A former air traffic controller, he led the debutants through a group with hosts South Africa, Morocco and Angola.
2013
Scorer of Cape Verde’s first goal at the finals.
Put Cape Verde ahead against Morocco in Durban in 2013, their first AFCON goal; the match finished 1–1.
2013
The stoppage-time match-winner of the debut campaign.
Came off the bench against Angola in 2013 and scored the 91st-minute winner that took Cape Verde into the quarter-finals.
Coach · 2020–2026
Led Cape Verde to the top of their 2023 AFCON group and to their first World Cup.
Under him Cape Verde went unbeaten through AFCON 2023 and reached the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
Statistics
Finals tournaments through Côte d’Ivoire 2023. Qualifiers not included.
Vozinha kept goal in Cape Verde’s first AFCON match in 2013 and was still their goalkeeper at the 2026 World Cup, 13 years later.
At AFCON 2023 Cape Verde won more matches and scored more goals than in their previous 11 finals matches combined.
Cape Verde fielded the oldest average starting XI at AFCON 2023 – 29 years and 64 days.
At the 2026 World Cup, three draws – with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia – made Cape Verde the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage.
The quarter-finals, reached at their debut in 2013 and again in 2023, when they went out on penalties without losing a match.
Four: 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023.
They finished bottom of their qualifying group; Egypt and Botswana took the two places.
At their first World Cup they drew 0–0 with Spain, 2–2 with Uruguay and 0–0 with Saudi Arabia – the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage – then lost 3–2 to Argentina after extra time in the round of 32.
Not yet. Qualifying begins on 24 September 2026. Cape Verde are in Group K with Mali, Rwanda and Liberia; the top two qualify. They open away to Mali on 25 September and host Rwanda on 29 September.
Humberto Bettencourt, Bubista’s successor, who named his first squad on 18 September 2026.
Sources · checked 21 September 2026
Historical figures cover AFCON finals tournaments only. Qualification, squads and rankings change — each is dated where it appears.
AFCON 2027
Travel to the Africa Cup of Nations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — arranged from anywhere in Africa and the diaspora.
Travel Ease Company is an independent travel agency. We are not an official CAF or AFCON partner, sponsor, supplier or ticketing agent, and we are not affiliated with the Confédération Africaine de Football.
Match tickets. Tickets are purchased through CAF’s official ticketing channel. Travel Ease provides ticket-purchase assistance. Tickets are not included in any package unless your written quotation specifically states otherwise.
Fixtures and venues. Fixtures, host cities and qualification are determined and published by CAF. We show them only once officially confirmed.
Entry requirements. These are set by the immigration authorities of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and depend on your passport. Always verify against an official government source.
AFCON and CAF are trademarks of their respective owners, used here only to describe the tournament our travel services relate to.
Travel Ease is an independent travel company, not affiliated with CAF. Match tickets are sold only through CAF’s official channel.
An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease Company
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