CAF reviews four-year Afcon plan as Motsepe raises return to biennial tournament

CAF is reconsidering its planned move to a four-year Africa Cup of Nations cycle, with president Patrice Motsepe saying a tournament every two years is again being discussed. BBC Sport reported that he confirmed the review on Friday at the governing body's strategy conference in Cape Verde, following discussions over the preceding days.

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The proposal under scrutiny dates to December 2025, when CAF announced that the competition would move to a four-year schedule after the 2027 tournament in East Africa and a 2028 edition. BBC Sport noted that Afcon has operated on a two-year cycle since 1968, apart from the one-year interval between the 2012 and 2013 competitions.

The intended change drew criticism across Africa. According to the BBC, national associations questioned what a longer gap would mean for their teams' visibility, commercial interests and the competition's position in the international calendar. Motsepe's remarks put the frequency of Africa's leading national-team tournament back under consideration, without confirming that the earlier plan has been overturned.

Punch reported that the four-year proposal formed part of a wider restructuring of national-team football, which also included plans to launch an African Nations League in 2029. Those changes were intended to bring African competitions into closer alignment with the international calendar while providing more regular senior national-team competition on the continent.

Motsepe also rejected suggestions that CAF's decisions were made to serve UEFA or FIFA, according to Punch. He said the organisation's responsibility was to advance African interests, while acknowledging that cooperation with European football remained important because many African players work there. He indicated that CAF would continue engaging with authorities in Europe, the United States and China, despite disagreements.

The strategy conference in Santa Maria on Sal Island ran from October 7 to 9, bringing together representatives of CAF's 54 member associations, coaches and other football stakeholders. Punch reported that Motsepe gave no timetable for a decision on Afcon's frequency and did not say whether the review would produce a formal calendar change. A return to the two-year arrangement therefore remains under consideration, rather than confirmed.