CAF Restores AFCON to Biennial Schedule

The Confederation of African Football has reversed its plan to move the Africa Cup of Nations to a four-year cycle, restoring the tournament’s traditional biennial format. CAF said its Executive Committee unanimously approved the change. The revised schedule lists Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as co-hosts of the 2027 tournament, with further editions planned for 2028, 2031 and 2033. CAF’s schedule includes no AFCON in 2030, a World Cup year. The reversal abandons a plan announced last December to stage AFCON every four years and introduce an Africa Nations League as the biennial competition. CAF President Patrice Motsepe said the proposed league would take several years to generate the financial and football-development contributions the organization expected. Motsepe said the committee’s decision was intended to protect the interests of African football, CAF’s 54 member associations and African players employed by clubs outside the continent. CAF presented the financial rationale as part of its explanation for restoring the two-year schedule; it was not independently substantiated in the reports. The revised calendar also avoids holding AFCON’s final tournament in the same year...