The Africa Cup of Nations will continue to be played every two years after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) abandoned its plan to move the tournament to a four-year schedule from 2028.
The reversal was announced following a CAF Executive Committee meeting held in Cape Verde on October 8 and 9, 2026. The decision overturns a change announced in December 2025, which would have seen AFCON held once every four years.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe said retaining the two-year cycle was important for protecting the interests of African football and ensuring that the continent’s 54 member associations and players competing abroad continued to benefit from the competition.
He said the decision also reflected concerns about the proposed Africa Nations League, which had been expected to take on some of AFCON’s role under the earlier restructuring plan.
Motsepe said CAF was concerned that the new competition could take several years before generating substantial revenue and making a significant contribution to the development of football across Africa.
“The decision by the CAF Executive Committee to maintain AFCON every two years was based on the desire to develop, protect and safeguard the interests of African football, the 54 CAF member associations and African players playing for clubs outside our continent,” he said.
The change keeps AFCON on a biennial footing, although the tournament calendar outlined by CAF includes editions in 2028, 2031 and 2033. There will be no AFCON in 2030, when the FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place.
Before those editions, East Africa will host the 2027 tournament, with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda sharing hosting duties.
The decision marks a change in CAF’s plans for the competition, which had been part of a wider proposal to introduce the Africa Nations League and reorganise the continent’s international football calendar.
