The move comes after recent World Cup host South Africa announced it was interested in hosting the event after Equatorial Guinea and Libya host in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said all three nations met the September 30 deadline with the governing body and all documents appear in order.
“The CAF announces the closure of the application of bids for the hosting rights for the 2015 and 2017 Orange Africa Cup of Nations,” a statement from the football body read.
“The deadline for the submission of applications of the two tournaments was Friday, September 30, 2010 at midnight.
“The CAF Administration has registered the following three (three) applications from its Member Associations: DR Congo, Morocco and South Africa.”
The CAF plans to meet next year to make a decision on which two countries will host following Libya 2013.
The statement from the body added: “The hosting rights for the 30th and 31st editions of the continent’s showpiece football event will be determined by the CAF executive committee at a meeting to be decided at a later date in 2011.”
If successful, the DR Congo will host the event for the first time in its history, while Morocco hosted in 1988 and South Africa in 1996.
Three countries look to host African Cup of Nation
