CAF reverses course and restores AFCON to biennial cycle with four tournaments confirmed

The Africa Cup of Nations will return to a two-year cycle after CAF’s Executive Committee unanimously reversed its December decision to shift the tournament onto a four-year schedule, the governing body confirmed. The move effectively ends, at least in the short term, plans for a CAF Nations League to serve as the continent’s biennial competition.

CAF had surprised the football world last December when it announced AFCON would move to a four-year cycle, mirroring the schedules of UEFA’s European Championship and CONMEBOL’s Copa America. The reversal came after CAF President Patrice Motsepe signalled at a strategy conference in Cape Verde earlier this month that the organisation was reconsidering the change.

In a statement, CAF said the Nations League would take years to generate sufficient revenue to sustain African football, making the restoration of the biennial AFCON the more financially sound option. “The decision by the CAF Executive Committee to reinstate the organization of the AFCON every two years aims to advance, protect and promote the interests of African football and the 54 CAF Member Associations, as well as those of African players playing for clubs outside the continent,” Motsepe said.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will co-host the 2027 edition, the next tournament on the revised calendar. Subsequent editions are scheduled for 2028, 2031 and 2033. There will be no AFCON in 2030, with CAF maintaining its long-standing tradition of not staging the competition in a FIFA World Cup year.

The decision has significant implications for European club football, where managers have long raised concerns about losing African internationals during the northern hemisphere season. A four-year cycle would have eased that disruption, but CAF has concluded that the financial and developmental benefits of a more frequent AFCON outweigh the scheduling tensions with club competitions.