CAF confirms AFCON switch to four-year cycle after 2028

CAF confirms AFCON switch to four-year cycle after 2028

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be staged every four years from the 2028 edition, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe announced on Saturday.

Motsepe revealed the decision as part of a broad restructuring of international football on the continent aimed at easing congestion in the global football calendar.

AFCON has been held every two years since 1968, except for a one-year gap between the 2012 and 2013 tournaments.

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While the biennial format has historically been a key source of revenue for African national associations, Motsepe said the introduction of a new African Nations League would compensate financially.

Under the new structure, AFCON will retain its scheduled 2027 edition in East Africa, co-hosted by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, followed by another tournament in 2028. Thereafter, the competition will move to a four-year cycle.

Motsepe also announced the launch of an African Nations League, set to begin in 2029 and run annually, mirroring UEFA’s Nations League model.

“Our focus now is on this AFCON, but in 2027 we will be going to Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, and the AFCON after that will be in 2028,” Motsepe told reporters in Rabat on Saturday, on the eve of the opening match of the Morocco-hosted tournament.

“Then after the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029, we will have the first African Nations League, with more prize money, more resources and more competition,” he added. “As part of this arrangement, the AFCON will now take place once every four years.”

The Cup of Nations, first held in 1957, has increasingly faced scheduling challenges over the past 15 years as CAF sought to align the tournament with the international football calendar.

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