Africa Cup of Nations may stay as a biennial event, says CAF chief Motsepe

What the report says

The Confederation of African Football is reconsidering its plan to move the Africa Cup of Nations from a two-year cycle to every four years, CAF president Patrice Motsepe said on Friday, according to Al Jazeera’s report based on The Associated Press. Motsepe said the organisation was reviewing the decision and could return AFCON to a biennial schedule, even though he had announced in December that the tournament would shift to a four-year format starting in 2028.

Speaking at the close of CAF’s three-day strategy conference in Cape Verde, Motsepe pushed back against suggestions that FIFA or UEFA were steering CAF’s calendar choices. He said CAF’s priority was to protect African football interests and that the confederation had been discussing the issue again over the past few days. The article notes that the earlier decision to align AFCON with the FIFA international calendar had drawn criticism at the 2025 tournament in Morocco, where some observers argued it favored European preferences.

Motsepe also reaffirmed that the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as scheduled. That reassurance came after media reports raised concerns about construction timelines and possible calls within CAF to move the event. The report adds that Motsepe and other CAF leaders expressed strong support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino during the same conference.