The Confederation of African Football has confirmed that the Africa Cup of Nations will be held once every four years, starting after a planned 2028 tournament, bringing an end to its traditional two-year cycle.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe disclosed the decision on Saturday, describing it as part of a major restructuring of Africa’s international football schedule to ease pressure from an increasingly crowded global calendar.
While the biennial AFCON has long been a key source of income for national football associations across the continent, Motsepe said a new African Nations League would now play a central role in generating revenue and maintaining competitive football.
“Our focus now is on this AFCON but in 2027 we will be going to Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, and the AFCON after that will be in 2028,” Motsepe said in Rabat on Saturday, on the eve of the opening match of the Morocco-hosted tournament.
“Then after the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029 we will have the first African Nations League… with more prize money, more resources, more competition.
“As part of this arrangement, the AFCON now will take place once every four years.”
The African Nations League, which is expected to follow a similar model to UEFA’s Nations League, will be staged annually and is intended to provide increased financial returns and regular high-level competition for African national teams.
AFCON has been staged mostly every two years since its inaugural edition in 1957, but in recent years it has struggled to find a stable slot amid growing demands from club and international tournaments.
The ongoing finals in Morocco represent the eighth AFCON since the 2012 tournament co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, a period marked by repeated scheduling adjustments for Africa’s flagship football event.
