An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease
The Walias
1962 African champions · AFCON founders. Ethiopia open qualifying against Sudan on 25 September 2026.
Road to AFCON 2027
Group J
Ethiopia
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 Ethiopia
3
AFCON finals hosted
1962, 1968 and 1976 — and the first of them ended with Ethiopia crowned champions in Addis Ababa.
Iconic moment · 1962
Final · Ethiopia 1962, Addis Ababa
Egypt, the holders, led twice in the final and twice Ethiopia pulled level, the second time through Luciano Vassalo six minutes from the end. In extra time Italo Vassalo and Mengistu Worku scored to complete a 4–2 win and give Ethiopia their only continental title.
2019
Ethiopia 2–1 Côte d’Ivoire — AFCON 2021 qualifier highlights
Bahir Dar, November 2019: the win over Côte d’Ivoire on the road to Ethiopia’s first finals in nine years.
Official highlights from CAF TV, embedded from YouTube. Travel Ease hosts no footage and is not a CAF partner; the video loads only when you press play.
Ready for the next chapter?
Tell us where you are coming from and when you want to travel. We plan the trip around Ethiopia’s matches as soon as CAF confirms where they play.
See Ethiopia travel packagesWe contact you first when Ethiopia’s fixtures are fixed and travel opens. No payment.
AFCON 2027 packages
Follow the Walias to East Africa. Each trip works from any host country, so it holds whichever group Ethiopia 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.
Host countries
Explore the three host nations while we wait for Ethiopia’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 Ethiopia 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.
Ethiopia’s AFCON legacy
Ethiopia were there at the start. With Egypt and Sudan they made up the entire field at the first Africa Cup of Nations in Khartoum in 1957, went straight into the final with a bye and lost it 4–0 to Egypt; two years later in Cairo they finished third. The country also gave African football one of its architects: Ydnekatchew Tessema, a former Ethiopia captain who co-founded CAF in 1957 and was its president from 1972 until his death in 1987.
The title came in Addis Ababa in January 1962, at the first AFCON with a qualifying competition. Ethiopia came back from two goals down to beat Tunisia 4–2 in the semi-final, then came from behind twice against holders Egypt in the final before winning 4–2 after extra time. Luciano and Italo Vassalo both scored, and Mengistu Worku, the tournament’s best player, struck in extra time. Tessema was the coach.
The title came in Addis Ababa in January 1962, at the first AFCON with a qualifying competition. Ethiopia came back from two goals down to beat Tunisia 4–2 in the semi-final, then came from behind twice against holders Egypt in the final before winning 4–2 after extra time. Luciano and Italo Vassalo both scored, and Mengistu Worku, the tournament’s best player, struck in extra time. Tessema was the coach.
Ethiopia hosted again in 1968, winning all three group games before losing the semi-final 3–2 after extra time to Congo-Kinshasa, and in 1976, when a 2–0 win over Uganda proved to be their last victory at the finals to date. They returned in 2013 after 31 years away and drew 1–1 with the holders Zambia, and again in 2021, when captain Getaneh Kebede — the country’s all-time top scorer — equalised from the spot against Burkina Faso.
Yohannes Sahle, who first coached the Walias in 2015, returned in January 2026, and his side came through the preliminary round with a 4–0 aggregate win over São Tomé and Príncipe. Group J brings Sudan, Senegal and Mozambique, with the top two qualifying. Ethiopia open against Sudan on 25 September 2026, then host Senegal at the Bahir Dar National Stadium four days later.
1 title
Tap a year for the story of that title.
Iconic moments
1968
Semi-final · Ethiopia 1968, Addis Ababa
As hosts of the first eight-team AFCON, Ethiopia won all three group games — against Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire and Algeria — and topped their group. Congo-Kinshasa, the eventual champions, beat them 3–2 after extra time in the semi-final, and Côte d’Ivoire won the third-place match 1–0.
2013
Group stage · South Africa 2013, Mbombela
Ethiopia’s first finals match since 1982 was against the holders Zambia. Adane Girma equalised midway through the second half and the Walias held on for a 1–1 draw, despite playing most of the game after their goalkeeper was sent off.
2019
Qualifier · AFCON 2021 qualifying, Bahir Dar
Ethiopia beat Côte d’Ivoire 2–1 in Bahir Dar in November 2019 and, on the same ground in March 2021, thrashed Madagascar 4–0 to go top of their group. Ethiopia went on to qualify for Cameroon 2021, their first finals in nine years.
AFCON legends
Forward · 1959–1970
The star of the 1962 champions.
Named best player of AFCON 1962, he scored in extra time of the final against Egypt.
Forward · 1960s
Scorer of the late equaliser that took the 1962 final to extra time.
Scored in the 1962 final, as did his brother Italo — two brothers on the scoresheet in the same AFCON final.
Coach and administrator · 1940s–1980s
Coach of the 1962 champions and one of the founders of African football’s governing body.
A former Ethiopia captain, he co-founded CAF in 1957 and served as its president from 1972 until his death in 1987.
Forward · 2010s–2020s
Ethiopia’s all-time top scorer and captain at Cameroon 2021.
Played at both of Ethiopia’s modern finals, 2013 and 2021, and scored their penalty equaliser against Burkina Faso in 2022.
AFCON rivalry
Ethiopia and Sudan helped launch the competition in 1957, and they have met twice at the finals since — Sudan winning 1–0 in Cairo in 1959 and 3–0 in Khartoum in 1970. The neighbours now open Group J against each other on 25 September 2026, with the match reported to be staged in Juba.
Sudan at AFCON 2027Statistics
Finals tournaments through Cameroon 2021 (latest appearance). Qualifiers not included.
Ethiopia were one of just three teams at the first Africa Cup of Nations in 1957, with Egypt and Sudan.
The 1962 tournament in Addis Ababa, which Ethiopia won, was the first AFCON with a qualifying competition.
Ydnekatchew Tessema, who coached the 1962 champions, went on to be CAF president from 1972 to 1987.
Ethiopia’s only AFCON finals win outside their own country is a 4–2 victory over Tunisia in Accra in 1963.
Ethiopia’s most recent win at the finals was 2–0 against Uganda at their home tournament in 1976.
Once — in 1962 at home in Addis Ababa, beating holders Egypt 4–2 after extra time in the final.
Yes. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan were the only teams at the first tournament in 1957, and Ethiopia finished runners-up to Egypt.
At Cameroon 2021, where they went out in the group stage with one point. They did not qualify for the 2023 or 2025 finals.
Not yet. Qualifying begins on 24 September 2026. Ethiopia are in Group J, where the top two teams qualify.
Sudan, Senegal and Mozambique. Ethiopia face Sudan on 25 September 2026, then host Senegal at the Bahir Dar National Stadium on 29 September.
Yohannes Sahle, who signed a two-year contract in January 2026. He previously coached the national team in 2015–16.
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.
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An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease Company
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