Last Updated on 3 weeks ago by Charbel Coorey

There have been talks about a new T20 tournament, the Africa Cup. Big teams from the African continent are expected to feature in this tournament, with hope of a 2027 start.

According to Cricket Financial Journal, the tournament was discussed in the ICC’s Africa Regional Conference held in Namibia. The aim is to host a tournament with Africa’s six best teams, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. 

The other three teams will be determined through the qualifiers, and the tournament is expected to be held every two years. 

Tri-series with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia to soft launch Africa Cup T20

The concept is inspired by the Asia Cup and how it has helped the boards involved financially, especially for sides like Oman and the UAE. A similar Africa Cup T20 was played back in 2022-2024, but only associate teams participated, and it was stopped due to financial and sponsorship issues. 

This year, a tri-series between Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe will be played to soft-launch the Africa Cup T20 concept. From next year, three more teams will be added to the tournament. This tri-series, however, may become an annual occurrence. 

This Africa Cup concept is a part of the plan to commercialise cricket in Africa, especially after the Afro-Asia Cup talks didn’t reach any fruitful conclusion. Africa is considered to have excellent growth potential for cricket, with passionate scenes after Namibia stunned South Africa last year an example.

In 2022, journalist Tristan Lavalette had reported about the Afro-Asia Cup where Asian teams made a combined XI against the African teams for a series. It was quite popular back in the day, but now with the franchise leagues and a packed cricket calendar, it has taken a back seat.