The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has abandoned its plan to organise the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) every four years, opting instead to retain the tournament’s traditional two-year schedule.
The decision was announced on Thursday after CAF’s Executive Committee unanimously approved a return to the previous format.
In December 2025, CAF president Patrice Motsepe had announced plans to move AFCON to a four-year cycle, with the competition expected to take place in the same year as the European Championship.
The governing body had also introduced plans for an African Nations League, scheduled to begin in 2029, as part of its proposed restructuring of international football competitions on the continent.
However, explaining the reversal, Motsepe said maintaining the biennial AFCON format was in the best interest of African football and the confederation’s 54 member associations.
He also pointed out that the proposed African Nations League could take several years to become financially sustainable, making it difficult to rely on the competition as a replacement for AFCON in the intervening years.
“The next TotalEnergies CAF AFCON will take place in 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and I am confident that it will be very successful. The subsequent AFCONs thereafter will take place in 2028, 2031 and 2033,” Motsepe said.
He further explained that the scheduling of AFCON would take the FIFA World Cup calendar into consideration to avoid clashes with the global tournament.
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“The forthcoming FIFA World Cup will take place in 2030 and in accordance with the FIFA tradition, the final tournament of the AFCON and other Confederations National Teams competitions may not take place during the year of the FIFA World Cup,” he added.
The 2027 edition of AFCON will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, while the subsequent tournaments are scheduled for 2028, 2031 and 2033.