CAF scraps four-year plan, brings AFCON back to every two years
- CAF's executive committee voted unanimously on Thursday to keep the Africa Cup of Nations on a two-year cycle.
- The body had said in December 2025 that AFCON would move to every four years after 2027.
- President Patrice Motsepe said the proposed Africa Nations League would take years to pay for itself.
The Africa Cup of Nations will stay a two-yearly tournament. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said its executive committee agreed unanimously on Thursday, 29 October, to drop the four-year plan it announced in December 2025.
The change matters to Nigerian fans and to the Super Eagles: the country's biggest football showcase keeps its familiar rhythm, and players will not have to wait four years for a shot at the trophy.
CAF had wanted to replace the biennial AFCON with a new Africa Nations League. On Thursday it accepted that the new competition would need several years before it could stand on its own financially.
Why CAF changed its mind
CAF President Patrice Motsepe said the decision was taken to advance, protect and promote the interest of African football, CAF's 54 member associations and African players employed by clubs outside Africa.
He said CAF was worried about how long it would take for the proposed Nations League to bring in the money and football development that African competitions need to compete globally and support themselves.
Motsepe also said the AFCON is about celebrating African football and the continent's cultures, and bringing together people from all 54 countries, the diaspora and the rest of the world.
What happens next
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will co-host the next edition in 2027. After that, the tournament is set for 2028, 2031 and 2033.
There will be no AFCON in 2030, the year of the FIFA World Cup, in line with the tradition that the final stage of confederation tournaments does not hold in a World Cup year.
Motsepe said he is confident the 2027 tournament will be very successful.
