Meeting on 29 October 2026, the CAF Executive Committee abandoned the plan for a four-yearly AFCON. Patrice Motsepe, president of the body, justifies the choice by the interests of African football.
Meeting on Thursday 29 October 2026, the CAF Executive Committee unanimously approved a return to the biennial calendar for the Africa Cup of Nations, according to CINEWS. The four-year cycle project, decided in December 2025, is abandoned, reports Footafrica.net.
Patrice Motsepe, CAF president, defends a decision that “aims to advance, protect and promote the interests of African football and of CAF’s fifty-four member associations, as well as those of African players at clubs outside the continent,” he told Footafrica.net. An argument that does not dispel doubts over the organisation of AFCON 2027.
A Nations League too slow to pay off
CAF abandoned the four-yearly project notably because the proposed Nations League would need several years before generating substantial financial resources, according to Footafrica.net.
The resulting calendar is already set: after AFCON 2027, the 2028 edition will follow, then those of 2031 and 2033. The three-year gap between 2028 and 2031 is justified by the 2030 World Cup. CAF indeed recalls that, in line with FIFA tradition, the finals of AFCON and other national team competitions cannot be held in the year of a World Cup, stresses Cameroon Tribune.
AFCON 2027 under pressure
AFCON 2027 is scheduled in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 19 June to 17 July 2027. Romain Molina, journalist at Foot-Africa, speaks of “a staggering delay in infrastructure” and states: “Everyone says it’s impossible to hold.”
The presidential elections in Kenya add a further difficulty to the organisation of the tournament, according to Footafrica.net. On the Ugandan side, the reservations of Moses Magogo Hassim, president of the Ugandan Football Federation, about his country’s ability to meet its commitments would have been a serious setback for CAF, according to CINEWS.
A contested political reading
On Canal+ Sport Afrique, journalist Philippe Doucet denounces a form of “petty politics”. He believes the four-yearly AFCON project answered more to Gianni Infantino’s interests than to those of African football.
According to him, this U-turn could also serve as a diversion from Patrice Motsepe’s difficulties, notably the uncertainty around AFCON 2027.