The Confederation of African Football has reversed its plan to stage the Africa Cup of Nations every four years, restoring the tournament to a biennial schedule in a move the governing body says will protect its financial interests and support the development of African football.
CAF’s Executive Committee unanimously approved the decision on Thursday, less than a year after the organization announced plans to move to a four-year cycle following the 2028 edition.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe said the reversal was driven partly by concerns that a proposed Africa Nations League would take several years to generate sufficient revenue to sustain the continent’s football development programmes and make its competitions financially self-sufficient.
“The decision by the CAF Executive Committee to reinstate the organization of the AFCON every two years aims to advance, protect and promote the interests of African football and the 54 CAF Member Associations,” Motsepe said in a statement.
The Nations League was proposed as a new pan-African competition, also played every two years, that would eventually replace the current AFCON format. However, CAF said the competition would need several years to generate the financial returns required to support African football and maintain the global competitiveness of its competitions.
The decision restores the tournament’s traditional frequency and maintains AFCON as a major source of commercial revenue and financial support for African football.
Under the revised calendar, the next edition will take place in 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Subsequent tournaments are scheduled for 2028, 2031 and 2033.
There will be no AFCON in 2030 because the FIFA World Cup is scheduled for that year. CAF said the final stages of continental national-team competitions would not be held during a World Cup year, in accordance with FIFA tradition.
The reversal follows CAF’s December 2025 announcement that AFCON would move to a four-year cycle after 2028, as part of a broader restructuring of the international football calendar.
The proposed changes had raised questions about the future financial contribution of AFCON, one of the continent’s most important sporting and commercial events.
Motsepe said restoring the biennial format would better serve the interests of African football and its 54 member associations, including players competing for clubs outside the continent.
He also described AFCON as a celebration of African culture and identity, bringing together people from the continent, the diaspora and other parts of the world.
The 2027 tournament will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, marking a significant opportunity for East Africa to stage the continent’s biggest football competition.
CAF said it was confident the three countries would deliver a successful tournament.
