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Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, has declared that the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will take place every four years starting in 2028.
Since 1968, the competition has been held every two years; the 2012 and 2013 editions were separated by a year.
However, following the 2027 Afcon in East Africa and a 2028 edition, it will move to a four-year cycle.
Instead, Motsepe has said that an African Nations League will be established, and it will be held yearly starting in 2029.
“We have the most exciting new structure for African football,” stated Motsepe.
“I do what is in the interests of Africa. The global calendar has to be significantly more synchronised and harmonised.”
In the meantime, CAF has raised the Afcon winners’ prize money from $7 million (£5.2 million) to $10 million (£7.5 million).
Following a meeting of Caf’s executive committee in Morocco prior to the start of the 2025 finals in Rabat on Sunday, Motsepe made the unexpected revelation regarding the future of Afcon.
The football schedule has long been hampered by Afcon’s biennial hosting, with the great majority of recent competitions taking place halfway through the European club season.
Nonetheless, Caf remained dedicated to holding the competition every two years, in part because it has to reinvest the proceeds from the finals on the game on the continent.
CAF started its new plan in Egypt that year after deciding that Afcon would take place in June or July starting in 2019.
However, the 2021 and 2023 rounds in Cameroon and Ivory Coast, respectively, were held in January and February because to the Covid-19 pandemic and the weather in the host countries in Central and West Africa.
This year, FIFA’s expanded 32-team Club World Cup took place in June and July, forcing CAF to choose mid-season dates once more.
This year’s Afcon in Morocco will therefore take place across Christmas and the New Year for the first time, with the final scheduled for January 18.
The dates for the 2027 finals in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have not yet been revealed. This will be quickly followed by another AFCON in 2028, though the hosts have not yet been chosen.
The largest competition on the continent will then be held every four years in the same year as the European Championships.
Motsepe stated that CAF “have to compromise” and that the decision was taken in consultation with Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa, and Mattias Grafstrom, the general secretary of the world governing body.
Additionally, Motsepe announced the formation of the African Nations League, which would be held annually starting in 2029 in September, October, and November.
All 54 member associations will be divided into four zones for the competition, with six countries in the Northern zone and sixteen in the Eastern, Western, Central, and Southern zones.
The winners from each region will meet in November to determine the overall victor after matches in September and October.
The new competition, according to Motsepe, will be “the equivalent of an Afcon every year” and will be organised in collaboration with Fifa to draw elite sponsors.
“Every year in Africa, the best African players who play in Europe will be with us on the continent,” Motsepe added.
“Every year we will have a competition with 54 African nations with all the best players coming here to play.
“We are going to have a world-class competition every year.”
Source: newsthemegh.com
