Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), confirmed that the iconic tournament will move to a four-year cycle starting from 2028. This bold change will conclude the tournament’s longstanding biennial format that has been in place since 1968.
Motsepe, who addressed the media on Saturday in Rabat, Morocco, highlighted that the current format would wrap up with the 2027 AFCON, co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Following that, the tournament will be held every four years, aligning it with global football’s typical scheduling model. The decision marks a significant shift that will reshape African football in the coming years.
In addition to the AFCON changes, Motsepe revealed an exciting new competition: the African Nations League, set to debut in 2029. This annual league aims to enhance continental football’s competitive landscape, providing more opportunities for African teams to face off regularly, elevating the level of the sport and fostering greater national team rivalries.
“We have the most exciting new structure for African football,” Motsepe said. “This move is part of a larger plan to enhance the quality and appeal of African football, benefiting both players and fans.”
AFCON has been Africa’s premier football competition since its inception, with the tournament taking place every two or four years. However, the move to a four-year cycle will undoubtedly have a significant impact on both the tournament’s prestige and its timing. Historically, the biennial scheduling has clashed with European club competitions, often creating friction between national team commitments and club priorities. This transition will ease such tensions, particularly with European clubs, who have regularly voiced concerns about player availability during the competition.
The shift comes as a response to several scheduling challenges in recent years. The 2021 edition was postponed to 2022 due to infrastructure delays in Cameroon, while the 2023 tournament was moved to 2024 due to similar reasons.
CAF has previously attempted to move the competition’s timing from its traditional January-February window to June-July, but the extreme heat of the 2019 tournament in Egypt created significant difficulties for both players and organizers.
