The Confederation of African Football announced on Thursday on its official website that the Africa Cup of Nations will return to its biennial schedule. The executive committee of the organization cited reasons of economic viability.
This announcement had shaken the African football community a few months ago. CAF President Patrice Motsepe had stated that the AFCON should now be held every 4 years. In compensation, he introduced the idea of a Nations League every 2 years. However, CAF fears significant financial losses related to this change. “The Nations League, intended to replace the current AFCON and to be held every two years, would require several years to generate the essential financial resources needed to make CAF competitions and African football competitive on a global scale and financially independent,” the organization specified on its website.
Patrice Motsepe, for his part, insists that the entity he leads aims to protect the interests of African football and its stakeholders. “The decision of the CAF Executive Committee to restore the organization of the AFCON every two years aims to advance, defend, and promote the interests of African football and the 54 Member Associations of CAF, as well as those of African players playing in clubs outside the continent.”
The upcoming editions of the AFCON will therefore take place in 2027, 2028, 2031, and 2033. This planning should help avoid the competition coinciding with years when the World Cup is organized.
