Will European clubs object?

CAF's executive committee voted unanimously today to stage the Africa Cup of Nations every two years, tearing up its previous plan to hold the tournament every four years.

Patrice Motsepe, the CAF president, had revealed at the confederation's strategic conference in Cape Verde from 7 to 9 October 2026 that the executive committee would revisit last year's decision to move AFCON to a four-year cycle.

Several factors drove that rethink. Chief among them was the realisation that the new African Nations League, a continental competition designed to replace the current AFCON and run every two years, would take several years to generate the substantial money needed to make CAF's competitions and African football globally competitive and financially self-sufficient.

Motsepe said, in CAF's official statement: "The decision of CAF's executive committee to hold the Africa Cup of Nations every two years was based on the need to promote, protect and advance the interests of African football, alongside the interests of the 54 member associations of CAF, as well as the professional African players at clubs outside the continent."

He added: "We also took into account the many years the new African Nations League will need, a continental competition that was supposed to be similar to the current Africa Cup of Nations and held every two years, before it can make substantial financial contributions and impactful contributions to the development of African football, so as to make CAF's competitions capable of competing globally and achieving financial self-sufficiency."

He continued: "The next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations will be held in 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and I am confident it will be a great success. The following editions of the tournament will be held in 2028, 2031 and 2033."

He went on: "The next edition of the World Cup will be held in 2030, and in accordance with the traditions followed by FIFA, the final stage of the Africa Cup of Nations and the national team tournaments of the other continental confederations may not be held in the same year in which the World Cup takes place."

He concluded: "The Africa Cup of Nations is not only a celebration of African football, but also represents an opportunity to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, customs and traditions of the continent, and to bring together the peoples of the 54 African nations and the African communities in the diaspora, alongside people from all over the world. The decision of CAF's executive committee is in the interest of African football and the 54 member associations, and will also contribute significantly to the development and growth of football in Africa."