AFCON 2025
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reversed its earlier plan to stage the Africa Cup of Nations every four years and confirmed that the tournament will return to its traditional two-year cycle.
The decision was reached unanimously by the CAF Executive Committee on Thursday and announced in an official statement. CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe had already signalled at the CAF Strategy Conference in Cabo Verde (7–9 October 2026) that the governing body was reviewing the four-year proposal made last year.
According to CAF, the rethink was driven largely by financial and developmental concerns. The proposed Africa Nations League, which was meant to replace the biennial AFCON as the main continental competition, would have taken several years to generate the substantial revenue needed to support African football and keep CAF competitions competitive and self-sustaining.
Motsepe said the return to a two-year cycle was in the best interests of African football, the 54 member associations, and African players based at clubs outside the continent.
“The decision by the CAF EXCO that the CAF AFCON should take place every Two Years was based on advancing, protecting and promoting the interest of African Football and CAF’s 54 Member Associations, as well as the interest of African players employed by Football Clubs outside Africa,” Motsepe stated.
The next edition remains on track for 2027, jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Subsequent tournaments will be held in 2028, 2031 and 2033. There will be no AFCON in 2030 to avoid a clash with the FIFA World Cup, in line with CAF’s usual practice of not staging its flagship tournament in a World Cup year.
Motsepe also underlined the cultural importance of the competition, describing it as a platform that celebrates Africa’s diversity and brings together people from across the continent, the diaspora and the wider world. He expressed confidence that the 2027 tournament in East Africa will be a success and said the decision will contribute to the continued growth and development of the game on the continent.
