The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has dropped its plan to make the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) a four-year tournament. Its executive committee vetoed the 2025 announcement and restored the traditional two-year cycle, Daily Maverick reported on Thursday. Money drove the reversal.
When CAF President Patrice Motsepe announced the four-year plan last year, he said a new African Nations League would start in 2029. Modelled on the European Nations League, it would have run in the years without an Afcon, ending with a final and a trophy. CAF now says the league would need several years before it could raise the large sums African football needs to stay "globally competitive and self-supporting".
Motsepe said the decision protects the interests of African football and CAF's 54 member associations. He said it also protects African players at clubs outside Africa. He added that CAF was worried about how long the new league would take to make a real financial and development contribution.
The next Afcon will take place in 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It is the first edition co-hosted by three countries and runs from June 19 to July 17. Some reports from around the continent claim the hosts' infrastructure may not be ready. CAF has pushed back, saying it fully backs the host nations. "I am confident that it will be very successful," Motsepe said.
Later editions will be held in 2028, 2031 and 2033, Motsepe said. The 2030 Fifa World Cup rules out an Afcon that year. Under Fifa tradition, confederations' national team finals may not take place in a World Cup year. Under the scrapped plan, the next edition after 2028 would have come in 2032.
The four-year plan drew criticism when it was announced. Critics accused Motsepe of serving European interests. Fifa President Gianni Infantino had lobbied for the change. In 2020 he said the Afcon "generates 20 times less than the Euros". Motsepe rejected the criticism at the time. "We run Africa for Africa," he said.