Why has Caf abandoned plans to hold Afcon every four years?

For nearly 70 years, the Africa Cup of Nations has brought Africa’s top national teams together every two years. Now, after a brief plan to change that rhythm, the Confederation of African Football has decided to keep the tournament on its traditional schedule.

The reversal comes about 10 months after Caf president Patrice Motsepe announced that Afcon would move to a four-year cycle from 2028. He said the change would help align football’s global calendar. Afcon has often taken place during the European club season, leading to repeated disputes over when African players must leave their clubs to represent their countries. But the idea also raised concerns that African football might lose its most important competition and a major source of income.

Afcon has been held mostly every two years since its first edition in 1957. The exceptions were two three-year gaps in the 1960s and a one-year gap between the 2012 and 2013 tournaments. At the same time, Caf proposed an Africa Nations League, an annual competition involving all 54 African countries. Motsepe said it could create a “world-class competition every year” and help Caf build a steadier commercial base.

That alternative would take time to bring in money, however. Motsepe acknowledged that the Nations League could need “several years” to make substantial financial and football-development contributions. Afcon is already Caf’s biggest revenue generator: the 2025 edition was forecast to make a profit of $114 million, compared with $75 million for the previous finals, held in Ivory Coast.

There was also a warning in Caf’s recent history. The Africa Super League, announced in 2022 with projected annual revenues of $200 million, was discontinued after one edition when commercial deals fell short of expectations. Motsepe said Caf’s partners had not offered the deals the organisation expected.

Questions about how the four-year plan was approved added to the unease. Caf’s executive committee made the decision last December, without putting it to a general assembly representing all member nations. Algerian journalist Maher Mezahi argued that such a major change should have been debated by the full assembly for months. Caf later asked its 54 national associations whether they preferred the four-year plan or the old schedule. The executive committee then voted to restore the two-year format.

The decision also follows years of debate about Fifa’s influence. Fifa president Gianni Infantino publicly proposed a four-year Afcon cycle in 2020, before Motsepe became Caf president. The idea was presented as a way to harmonise the world calendar, but critics said it could serve Fifa’s needs more than those of African football. Motsepe has said his reversal is in the best interests of the game on the continent.

For now, Afcon remains the anchor of Caf’s calendar and finances, while the proposed Nations League faces a harder test: proving it can support football across the continent without replacing the tournament that fans and federations have long relied on. The schedule is settled for now, but the challenge of building reliable income for African football remains.