The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is reconsidering its plan to stage the Africa Cup of Nations once every four years, with president Patrice Motsepe confirming the possibility of a return to a biennial tournament.
Motsepe made the announcement on 9 October after a strategic conference in Cape Verde. The review comes less than a year after CAF announced that the competition would move to a four-year cycle from 2028.
The proposed change was intended to help reorganise the continental calendar around a new African Nations League. However, CAF must now weigh the effect of that reform on the commercial value of its flagship competition.
In August 2026, The Guardian reported that the decision to abandon the two-year cycle had contributed to the failure of a commercial agreement that would have guaranteed more than $1bn in revenue over eight years.
Financial considerations are not the only factor behind CAF’s renewed examination of the tournament’s frequency, but they are an important part of the debate.
A biennial Africa Cup of Nations gives national teams regular opportunities to develop a settled squad, introduce new generations of players and sustain public interest. The tournament also provides a major platform for footballers, particularly those playing in African leagues, to attract attention from clubs abroad.
Moving to a four-year cycle would reduce how often players receive that exposure. Holding the competition less frequently, however, could allow more time to prepare each edition, improve infrastructure and increase the significance of the tournament.
The central issue for CAF is therefore which system would best serve African football over the longer term.
The debate also affects clubs in Europe, who must release their internationals for major tournaments and international windows. African players are regularly required to join their national teams, and a more frequent Africa Cup of Nations could increase pressure on an already demanding calendar.
A four-year tournament cycle would not automatically resolve those problems. Clubs, players and national teams would still have to manage the demands created by international football.
CAF must also decide what would happen to the proposed African Nations League if it returned to holding the Africa Cup of Nations every two years. The competition was announced as part of the previous reform, meaning its place and format within the continental schedule would need to be clarified.
Reversing a reform announced only months earlier would raise questions about CAF’s governance as well as its planning. The organisation would need to explain the reasons for the change, detail the consultations held with its 54 member associations and assess the consequences for commercial partners and potential host countries.
For now, Motsepe has confirmed a review rather than a final decision. The issue is not simply whether the Africa Cup of Nations should be played every two or four years, but how CAF can create a coherent and financially sustainable calendar that benefits African football as a whole.
