CAF scraps four-year plan and restores Africa Cup of Nations every two years

The Confederation of African Football has reversed its decision to stage the Africa Cup of Nations every four years and restored the tournament's two-year cycle, less than a year after announcing the change in December 2025.

CAF said its Executive Committee took the decision unanimously. The next tournament remains in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2027, with subsequent editions scheduled for 2028, 2031 and 2033.

"The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee today unanimously decided that the CAF Africa Cup of Nations will return to taking place every two years," the governing body said in a statement reported by RTÉ Sport.

Why CAF changed course

The original announcement on 20 December 2025 provided for tournaments in 2027 and 2028, followed by a four-year gap to 2032. A new Africa Nations League, announced as an annual competition beginning in 2029, was meant to fill the space between editions.

That plan has now been abandoned largely on financial grounds. CAF said the proposed Nations League would need several years to generate enough revenue to support African football, its own competitions and football development.

"We were also concerned by the several years required before the proposed new Africa Nations League Pan-African competition, which was supposed to be identical to the current AFCON and take place every two years, could make the substantial financial and football development contributions for African Football and CAF competitions to be globally competitive and self-supporting," CAF President Patrice Motsepe said, according to ESPN.

Motsepe had signalled a rethink at CAF's strategy conference in Cape Verde earlier in October. He framed the reversal as a decision taken in the interests of the continent's 54 member associations and of African players at clubs abroad.

"The decision by the CAF Executive Committee to reinstate the organization of the AFCON every two years aims to advance, protect and promote the interests of African football and the 54 CAF Member Associations, as well as those of African players playing for clubs outside the continent," he said.

A two-year cycle with a gap in it

The restored frequency does not produce an unbroken two-year sequence straight away. After the 2028 edition there is a three-year wait until 2031, because CAF is sticking to its tradition of not staging the tournament in a FIFA World Cup year.

"The forthcoming FIFA World Cup will take place in 2030 and in accordance with the FIFA tradition, the final tournament of the AFCON and other Confederations National Teams competitions may not take place during the year of the FIFA World Cup," Motsepe said.