CAF shifts AFCON to four-year cycle starting 2028
CAF Confederation of African Football
Abdullateef Fowewe
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has announced a transformative change for African football, moving the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from its traditional biennial format to a four-year cycle beginning after the 2027 edition.
Motsepe revealed the decision during a press conference at the 2025 AFCON kick-off in Rabat, Morocco.
The upcoming 2027 AFCON, hosted jointly by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, will be followed by editions in 2028, then 2032 and 2036, aligning better with global calendars.
He emphasised the need for harmony, “The global calendar has to be significantly more synchronised and harmonised.”
The shift addresses ongoing conflicts between club and country schedules, particularly with European clubs reluctant to release African players.
Motsepe stated, “It is unfair for us to put the players in the middle of the fight that we have because their clubs say to them that they don’t want you to go to Africa and they are correct but CAF also needs them for their countries.”
This move aims to boost football growth in Africa and increase revenue, as he noted, “We are going to get so much more money than having the AFCON every two years.”
Alongside the AFCON change, Motsepe introduced the African Nations League, an annual regional tournament starting in 2029, to fill the gap and enhance competition.
