CAF’s executive committee unanimously decided on Thursday 29 October 2026 to restore the AFCON every two years and abandon the four-year cycle. Patrice Motsepe announced the 2027, 2028, 2031 and 2033 editions.
The Africa Cup of Nations will not move to a four-year cycle. Meeting on Thursday 29 October 2026, the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football unanimously decided to restore the organisation of the competition every two years, reports Le Soleil.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe defended the choice. “The decision of the CAF Executive Committee to restore the organisation of the AFCON every two years aims to advance, protect and promote the interests of African football and of CAF’s 54 member associations, as well as those of African players playing for clubs outside the continent,” he said, quoted by Le Soleil. The U-turn buries the move to a four-year cycle announced on 20 December 2025 by Motsepe himself, on the eve of the AFCON in Morocco, according to africasoccer.com.
Editions set until 2033
The next edition will be held in 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Patrice Motsepe, quoted by sport.le360.ma, set out the calendar: “The next edition of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations will take place in 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and I am convinced it will be a great success. The following editions will be held in 2028, 2031 and 2033.”
The absence of an edition in 2029 and 2030 is explained, according to Le360, by the 2030 World Cup, co-hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal. Tradition dictates that continental competitions are not held in the year of the World Cup, the Moroccan outlet argues.
The calendar thus returns to tradition: the AFCON has been played every two years since its creation in 1957, africasoccer.com recalls. The move to a four-year cycle was due to apply after the 2027 and 2028 editions.
The reasons for the U-turn
The reassessment of the format had been announced by Motsepe at CAF’s strategic conference in Cape Verde, from 7 to 9 October 2026, according to sport.le360.ma. The main reason is financial: the future African Nations League, meant to replace the AFCON, would have needed several years before generating substantial financial resources, reports Le Soleil. The AFCON remains CAF’s main source of revenue to fund its other competitions, a point raised in the consultation, according to africasoccer.com.
The African Nations League project would also have had to be played every two years, Le Soleil specifies. The four-year shift had been widely criticised, with some observers seeing it as a concession to the interests of FIFA and European clubs, according to ghanasoccernet.com.
A consultation of the 54 federations
Ahead of the decision, CAF’s interim general secretary, Samson Adamu, sent a circular to the 54 federations this week, with a reply deadline set for Wednesday 28 October, according to SABC Sport, relayed by ghanasoccernet.com. Initial responses were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the biennial rhythm, the same source adds.
The executive committee’s decision therefore comes after a consultation of member associations. CAF’s full official statement, which is to formalise the decision, has not yet been published.