Why has Caf abandoned plans to hold Afcon every four years?

What the report says

The Confederation of African Football has reversed its earlier plan to move the Africa Cup of Nations onto a four-year schedule and will keep the tournament on a two-year cycle. The BBC reports that CAF president Patrice Motsepe said the change was made in the interests of African football, after the idea was first raised in late 2025 and then debated again at a strategy conference in Cape Verde earlier this month.

The original proposal had been controversial because Afcon has long been one of CAF’s most important competitions, both sportingly and financially. According to the BBC, the tournament generates a major share of CAF’s income, and the switch to a longer cycle was linked to plans for a new annual Africa Nations League involving all 54 member associations. Critics questioned whether the alternative competition could quickly replace Afcon’s commercial value, especially after earlier ambitious projects in African football fell short.

The BBC says the final decision followed consultation with CAF’s 54 associations after the executive committee had approved the four-year idea last December without putting it to a wider assembly. The restoration of the two-year format also suggests caution around the proposed Nations League, which Motsepe now says may take years to become financially and competitively meaningful.

The move has wider implications for the international calendar and for CAF’s relationship with FIFA, which has also been influential in discussions about global tournament scheduling. Under the revised approach, Afcon remains set for 2027, 2028, 2031 and 2033, though some hosting details still need to be confirmed.