The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has implemented a significant modification to the scheduling of the annual Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.
According to CAF, the tournament will now take place every four years, commencing with the edition planned for 2028.
This alteration effectively abolishes the biennial format previously in place.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe announced the change on Saturday, December 20, 2025, stating that it forms part of a substantial restructuring of international football on the continent, aimed at aligning it more effectively with the global football calendar.
“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 told reporters in Rabat on Saturday, on the eve of the opening game of this year’s Morocco-hosted Cup of Nations.
“Then after the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029 we will have the first African Nations League… with more prize money, more resources, and more competition.
“As part of this arrangement, the AFCON now will take place once every four years.”
He further explained that the new changes, along with the introduction of the Nations League, were done “to make sure the football calendar worldwide is more in harmony”.
“Of course our primary duty is to African football, but we also have a duty to the players from Africa playing for the best clubs in Europe,” he added.
“We want to make sure that there is more synchronisation and that the global calendar allows the best African players every year to be in Africa.”
He further stated that the new annual Nations League would commence with a regionalised format, comprising 16 teams each in the eastern, western, and central-southern zones, and six teams in the northern zone.
He added that prize money for the Cup of Nations in Morocco would be increased so that the winners receive $10 million, up from seven million dollars for the winners in Ivory Coast in 2024.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
