The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is expected to vote on a return to a biennial Africa Cup of Nations at its ordinary general assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, on 21 November.

The move would reverse a decision announced in December 2025, when CAF said the tournament would be held every four years from 2028. The proposed change is expected to be put to a vote 11 months after the previous decision was taken during the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

CAF had announced the four-year cycle without prior consultation or a vote, a process that angered many figures in African football as well as supporters.

At the same time, the governing body said the African Nations Championship (CHAN), a competition for players based in Africa, would be scrapped because it was not considered financially viable.

The prospect of restoring the Africa Cup of Nations to a two-year schedule was raised at a recent conference on African football in Praia, Cape Verde. It has received broad backing from national federation presidents.

Patrick Sangwa, the Belgian-Congolese head coach of Burundi, also supports the change.

“The Africa Cup of Nations is the only genuine high-level competition in Africa,” he said. “The CHAN has been abolished, so the sporting case for staging it every two years seems obvious to me.

“It would give teams such as Burundi, Madagascar, Comoros, Gambia and others, who have appeared in recent final tournaments, a better chance of qualifying more regularly.”

CAF had said that the change to a four-year cycle would be offset by the creation of an African Nations League. Similar competitions already exist in Europe and the CONCACAF region.

The original proposal approved by CAF in December 2025 was widely understood in Africa to have been suggested by FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Infantino attended the conference in Praia and did not express any objection to the possible return to a biennial tournament.

Sangwa, who hopes to lead Burundi’s national team, the Hirondelles, at the next edition, does not base his position solely on sporting considerations.

Economic factors are also central to CAF’s reconsideration. The Africa Cup of Nations is the organisation’s main source of income, while moving the tournament to a four-year cycle would have forced it to find additional revenue to avoid financial losses.

CAF now appears unwilling to accept that risk. A return to a tournament every two years would restore a more regular source of income while also providing more frequent opportunities for national teams to reach the finals.

The final decision is due to be taken at the CAF assembly in Abuja, where the governing body could formally overturn the arrangement announced less than a year earlier.