The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has dropped its plan to hold the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) every four years. The CAF Executive Committee took the decision unanimously on Thursday, Radio Okapi reported. The tournament will return to its traditional two-year cycle.
In December, CAF announced that Afcon would move to a four-year cycle. A new Africa Nations League would have replaced it as the continent's biennial competition. Al Jazeera reported that the change was not widely welcomed. According to the BBC, CAF admitted after a review that the Nations League would take several years to earn enough revenue to support itself.
The next Afcon will take place in 2027, hosted jointly by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Editions will follow in 2028, 2031 and 2033. There will be no tournament in 2030 because CAF keeps its tradition of not staging Afcon in a World Cup year.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe said in a statement that the decision protects the interests of African football and CAF's 54 member associations. He said it also serves African players employed by clubs outside the continent. According to Vanguard, published by AllAfrica, Motsepe said the Nations League would not give African football the support it needs in the near future. He also said he was confident the three East African countries could deliver a successful tournament in 2027.
Motsepe announced the move after CAF's strategy conference in Cabo Verde, held from October 7 to 9, AllAfrica reported. According to Al Jazeera, he said at the conference that CAF was already considering a return to the two-year cycle.
A two-year Afcon has long clashed with the football calendar, the BBC noted. Most recent tournaments took place in the middle of the European club season. The BBC also said Fifa's expanded Club World Cup in June and July last year pushed CAF to choose mid-season dates. The 2025 final ended with Senegal crowned champions. Three months later, they were stripped of the title in favour of Morocco, the BBC reported.