President of the Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”), Dr Patrice Motsepe. Photo: CAF
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has declared that the Confederation of African Football is considering a return to the Africa Cup of Nations being held every two years, months after announcing plans to switch the tournament to a four-year cycle.
Motsepe announced this on Friday while speaking at the CAF Strategy Conference in Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cape Verde, saying the governing body had reviewed the competition’s future in recent discussions.
“The AFCON, because this is one of the issues we’re talking about, we took a decision as Africa, because, and there were lots of issues, but I can guarantee you we have discussed it over the last few days to say we are looking at everything, including having the AFCON coming back every two years,” he said.
The conference, which ran from October 7 to 9, brought together leaders of CAF’s 54 member associations, national team coaches and other football stakeholders to discuss the development of the game across the continent.
Motsepe’s remarks suggest that CAF is reviewing the format, although he did not announce a decision to reverse the planned change.
In December 2025, CAF announced that AFCON would move from its traditional two-year cycle to a four-year schedule after the 2028 edition.
The decision was part of a restructuring of African national team competitions, which also included plans for an African Nations League from 2029.
The changes were intended to align African football more closely with the international calendar and provide a senior national team competition in Africa more regularly.
The four-year AFCON plan, however, marked a major departure from the tournament’s long-standing format and prompted debate about its implications for African football.
During Friday’s address, Motsepe also rejected suggestions that CAF made decisions to satisfy European football authorities, insisting that the organisation’s responsibility was to protect the interests of the continent.
“This nonsense, absolute rubbish, that CAF takes decisions because UEFA asks us, that it’s for the benefit of UEFA or the benefit of FIFA, absolute nonsense, absolute rubbish,” he said.
He acknowledged that CAF sometimes disagreed with the Union of European Football Associations but said cooperation remained important because many African players compete in Europe.
“Our job is to look after the interests of Africa,” Motsepe said, adding that his duty was to “protect, promote and advance the interests of Africa”.
He said CAF would continue to work with football authorities in Europe, the United States and China while standing firm when necessary to defend African interests.
Motsepe did not give a timeline for any possible decision on AFCON’s format or explain whether the review would lead to a formal change in the competition calendar.
