Caf Restores Two-Year Afcon Cycle — SkimNews
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- Caf reversed its December 2025 four-year Afcon plan after asking all 54 member associations for preferences, despite Motsepe’s argument that the shift would synchronize the global calendar; the executive committee voted to restore the status quo.
- Afcon has run mostly every two years since 1957; the 2027 finals are set for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 19 June to 17 July, followed by another edition in 2028 and later tournaments in 2031 and 2033.
- Sydney Mungala said the two-year cycle had served the continent well and surprised and concerned the bulk of African federations; Afcon’s usual midseason placement had also produced recurring disputes over releasing African players.
- Africa Nations League has a proposed September 2029 kick-off, and Motsepe’s latest statement indicates a two-year cycle rather than annual, leaving unresolved how it fits around Afcon from 2031.
- Africa Super League was discontinued after one edition because partners did not deliver the expected commercial deals, despite projected annual revenues of $200m.
- Afcon was projected to generate $192m for Morocco 2025, representing 66% of Caf’s competition revenue, with forecast profit of $114m versus $75m at the previous Ivory Coast finals.
- Gianni Infantino proposed a four-year Afcon in February 2020 before Motsepe rejected it; Maher Mezahi interpreted African support for the Fifa president in Cape Verde as a quid pro quo in which the two-year reversal was the main concession.
Why it matters: Caf’s 54 member associations retain the two-year format after a preferences survey, while Afcon — projected to supply 66% of Caf’s competition revenue in Morocco 2025 — remains the funding base for other national-team programs. The unresolved trade-off is a Nations League starting in September 2029 with no stated place in Afcon years from 2031.
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