The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reversed its controversial decision to move the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to a four-year cycle, with the Executive Committee unanimously voting to restore the competition’s traditional two-year format.
The decision was announced on Thursday, October 29, 2026, following a reassessment of the proposed restructuring, which would have seen the continental tournament move to a four-year schedule from 2028.
In an official statement, CAF confirmed that its Executive Committee had unanimously agreed that AFCON would return to being staged every two years.
The reversal follows an announcement by CAF president Patrice Motsepe at the organisation’s Strategy Conference in Cabo Verde, held from October 7 to 9, that the Executive Committee would reconsider the previous decision.
CAF explained that the proposed Africa Nations League, which was intended to replace AFCON as the continent’s biennial competition, would require several years to generate the financial resources needed to support African football and make its competitions globally competitive and financially sustainable.
Motsepe said the decision was taken to protect the interests of African football, the confederation’s 54 member associations and African players employed by clubs outside the continent.
He added that the proposed Nations League could not deliver the required financial and developmental benefits quickly enough to justify replacing the established AFCON format.
Under the revised calendar, the next AFCON will take place in 2027, jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The subsequent editions are scheduled for 2028, 2031 and 2033. There will be no tournament in 2030, as CAF intends to avoid holding its continental national-team competition in the same year as the FIFA World Cup.
Motsepe expressed confidence in the 2027 tournament, saying the East African hosts would deliver a successful competition.
The CAF president also emphasised AFCON’s wider significance beyond football, describing it as an opportunity to celebrate the continent’s diverse cultures, customs and traditions while bringing together people from Africa’s 54 countries and the diaspora.
CAF’s earlier decision to move AFCON to a four-year cycle had been linked to plans to introduce the Africa Nations League as a biennial competition.
The proposal generated debate across African football, particularly over the implications for the continent’s flagship national-team tournament, its member associations and players.
The latest decision restores the competition’s established two-year rhythm, although the revised calendar will still include a three-year gap between the 2028 and 2031 editions because of the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The reversal means AFCON will remain a regular fixture on the international football calendar, with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda preparing to stage the next edition in 2027.