Africa Cup of Nations moved to every four years
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RABAT – In future, the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will be held every four years instead of every two years, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Dec 20.
The surprise decision was made at the body’s executive committee meeting in the Moroccan capital of Rabat and announced at a press conference by CAF president Patrice Motsepe.
The tournament, which brings in an estimated 80 per cent of CAF’s revenue, has typically been held every two years since its inception in 1957.
Dec 21 marks the start of the 35th edition, which is being hosted in Morocco and will kick off with the home team facing Comoros in a match that took place after press time.
Motsepe said the next Afcon finals, scheduled for 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, will go ahead before another tournament is held in 2028. After that, it will be hosted every four years.
He also announced the launch of an African Nations League annually from 2029 to fill the gap, following the example of Europe, which holds its championship every four years.
“Historically, the Nations Cup was the prime resource for us but now we will get financial resources every year,” he said.
“It is an exciting new structure which will contribute to sustainable financial independence and ensure more synchronisation with the FIFA calendar.”
Holding Afcon every four years had been previously proposed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino but this had been rebuffed by CAF because of their reliance on the revenues that the tournament generates.
The timing of Afcon has long courted controversy because it has usually been hosted in the middle of the European football season, forcing clubs to release their African players if they are selected for their national teams.
This tug of loyalty was supposed to be solved by moving Afcon to mid-year from 2019, but later tournaments in Cameroon in 2022 and Ivory Coast in 2024 were hosted at the start of the year again.
The 2025 tournament in Morocco was moved back six months after FIFA introduced a new-look Club World Cup, which was hosted in the US in June and July.
“It is in the interests of the teams, clubs and players,” Motsepe added. “I can’t have players leaving their clubs in Europe in the mid-season. It’s wrong.
“We've got a duty to the players. We know how frustrating it is for the players when their club says they are needed but they are also needed for the country.
“It’s unfair to the players. We are solving this problem for us in Africa and for our African players.”
Motsepe also said there would be an immediate increase in prize money, with the winners of this edition getting US$10 million (S$12.9 million) compared to US$7 million for the last Afcon, which the hosts Ivory Coast won. REUTERS
