The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially confirmed a major shift in the scheduling of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). After the 2028 edition, the tournament will be held once every four years, breaking away from its long-standing tradition of a two-year cycle.
This year’s AFCON, hosted in Morocco, marks the eighth edition since the competition was last held on African soil in 2012, when Equatorial Guinea and Gabon co-hosted the tournament. Since its inaugural edition in 1957, the Cup of Nations has been played at two-year intervals, providing a steady rhythm for African football fans and national associations alike.
However, over the past 15 years, CAF has struggled to find a convenient place for AFCON in the increasingly crowded global football calendar. National teams often face clashes with European leagues and international competitions, making scheduling a growing challenge. The new four-year cycle aims to alleviate these conflicts and give the tournament a more consistent and manageable rhythm.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe outlined the change as part of a broader restructuring of African football, designed to better integrate the continent’s competitions into the global scene. The president emphasized that while AFCON has been a crucial source of revenue for African national associations, the introduction of a new African Nations League, modeled after UEFA’s Nations League, would now help boost coffers and provide teams with more competitive opportunities.
“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.”
The African Nations League will follow the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029, providing additional competitive fixtures for national teams across the continent. The new four-year AFCON cycle, beginning after the 2028 tournament, is intended to align African football with the broader international calendar while keeping the tournament’s historical schedule consistent.
