Caf Restores Afcon’s Two-Year Cycle — SkimNews
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- Caf restored Afcon to its traditional two-year cycle after all 54 member associations were asked to choose between the formats, ending a four-year plan announced for 2028 that had been approved by the executive committee without first going to the general assembly.
- Patrice Motsepe said the reversal was in the “best interest of African football” and acknowledged that the proposed Nations League would need “several years” to deliver substantial financial and football-development gains.
- Africa Nations League has a proposed September 2029 kick-off, but Motsepe’s latest statement indicated biennial rather than annual staging; how it fits into Afcon years from 2031 remains unresolved.
- Africa Super League was announced in 2022 with projected annual revenues of $200m, yet was discontinued after one edition when partners failed to deliver the commercial deals Motsepe had expected.
- Afcon 2025 carried a forecast $114m profit, up from $75m for the previous finals; separate figures projected $192m for Morocco 2025, equal to 66% of Caf’s competition income.
- Gianni Infantino proposed a four-year Afcon in February 2020 and later secured African backing for his re-election effort; journalist Maher Mezahi characterized that support as a quid pro quo involving Afcon’s return to two years.
- Sydney Mungala said only two of Zambia’s 11 national teams were partly government-sponsored, leaving the FA to fund programmes partly with Caf and Fifa support.
Why it matters: African federations retain a familiar tournament cycle, and Afcon’s projected $192m revenue—66% of Caf’s competition income—helps sustain the funding base for member programmes. Caf still lacks the replacement revenue stream sought after the one-edition Africa Super League failed to deliver expected commercial deals.
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