AFCON 2027 Accommodation Strategy for Fans and Film Crews

Accommodation will be in demand during AFCON 2027, and crews and fans need rooms with good power and connectivity for charging and backups. Book flexible rates until match allocations are confirmed, and choose locations that avoid long match-day transfers.

A tournament is full of pictures, but stadiums, security zones and crowds decide what you can actually take. Plan the camera around the rules, not the other way round. Across East Africa, this guide keeps coming back to four things: refundable rates, host-city confirmation, transport to stadium areas and avoiding unofficial ticket bundles.

What to plan around

• Refundable rates
• Host-city confirmation
• Transport to stadium areas
• Avoiding unofficial ticket bundles

Light and timing

Evening matches mean stadium lighting, which is harsh and uneven. The golden hour before kick-off is often the best time to photograph fans and atmosphere outside the ground.

Daytime fan zones get very bright. Look for shade, backlight and faces rather than wide frames bleached by the sun.

Gear and practicalities

Stadiums usually restrict professional cameras, detachable lenses and tripods for spectators. Read your ticket terms before you pack, and expect to rely on a phone or compact camera inside the ground.

Keep valuables and equipment close in crowds, carry spare power, and store essential documents both digitally and on paper.

A simple shot list

A short list keeps a trip focused without making it feel like work. Adapt it to your own days:

• Arrival: the first views, the journey in and the moment the trip starts to feel real.
• The main event: whatever the trip is built around, from more than one distance and angle.
• Context: the places you stay, the people you travel with and the roads in between.
• Details and motion: textures, food, hands, sound and short clips that bring the stills to life.
• You: at least a few frames with you in them. They are the ones most people wish they had.

Permits, people and responsibility

Professional filming inside venues needs media accreditation from the organisers; a ticket is not a filming licence. Respect security instructions, ask before filming individuals close up, and keep drones on the ground unless you hold authorisation from the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority and the event.

Questions we are often asked

Can I take my camera into the stadium?
Check your ticket and venue terms. Spectators are commonly limited to phones or small cameras, and professional equipment usually needs media accreditation.

What about AFCON 2027 is already confirmed?
CAF has confirmed the tournament window and the three co-hosts: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Venues, match allocations and ticketing should be checked against CAF's latest announcements.

Can I film fans for social media?
In public spaces, generally yes, but ask before filming anyone close up, and never film children without a parent's consent.

Working with Creative Quest

Creative Quest is a photography and film studio based in Moshi, at the foot of Kilimanjaro, working across Tanzania and worldwide. We photograph and film private safaris, family journeys, proposals and celebrations, and we make pictures and films for hotels, lodges and tour operators.

If you would rather be in the pictures than behind the camera, or you need professional work for your business, tell us where you are going and when. We usually reply within one working day.

Check before you go

Fees, permits, opening hours, drone rules and event details change. Confirm the latest information with the official source:

• Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA)
• Tanzania Tourist Board
• Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (drone authorisation)
• CAF, AFCON PAMOJA 2027 overview