The CAF executive committee has reversed its decision to hold the AFCON every four years. President Patrice Motsepe justifies the U-turn on financial grounds, in the name of the 54 member associations and African players plying their trade abroad.
The AFCON will not change its rhythm after all. A year after announcing that the competition would be played every four years, CAF has backtracked: its executive committee has cancelled that decision and restored the biennial cycle, reports Daily Maverick. The U-turn was announced on 5 November.
According to the South African outlet, president Patrice Motsepe said the motivation for the reversal was financial. He says the decision is meant to protect the interests of the 54 member associations and of African players playing abroad.
An African Nations League in the background
In a statement quoted by Daily Maverick, the CAF president defends a decision taken, he says, on behalf of African football as a whole: “The decision by the CAF ExCo that the Afcon should [continue to] take place every two years was based on advancing, protecting and promoting the interest of African Football and Caf’s 54 member associations, as well as the interest of African players employed by football clubs outside Africa.”
Behind that wording, the financial question is at the heart of the matter. Patrice Motsepe also said he was concerned about the several years it would take before the planned African Nations League could bring substantial resources to African football and CAF competitions. The executive committee therefore chose to keep the biennial rhythm rather than wait for that revenue.
2027 edition under threat from construction work
The return to a biennial cycle now puts pressure on the next edition. According to Assawsana, AFCON 2027, co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, is threatened by delays in stadium construction. The information has not been confirmed by an official decision: the report mentions neither cancellation nor postponement.
The tighter calendar makes these uncertainties more sensitive: CAF has chosen to keep a tournament every two years, provided the infrastructure keeps up. The report does not specify by when the stadiums must be delivered in the three host countries.