CAF Confirms AFCON Calendar Change And Annual Africa Nations League

‎CAF has announced that the Africa Cup of Nations will be held every four years starting in 2028, alongside a new Africa Nations League that will occur annually.

‎CAF president Dr. Patrice Motsepe made the statement in Morocco on Saturday, ahead of the 2025 AFCON tournament, which begins with Comoros facing the hosts on Sunday.

‎Motsepe confirmed that the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, will proceed as planned, and the edition originally set for 2029 will be moved up to 2028. The subsequent AFCON would then be in 2032.

This schedule paves the way for the inaugural Africa Nations League to take place in 2029, Motsepe said.

‎It would include all 54 member nations, divided into four geographical zones, with matches in September and October, followed by finals in November.

‎”There’s going to be a competition every year where the best African players who play in Europe and worldwide will be with us on the continent,” Motsepe said.

‎He was unable to say when the 2028 AFCON could take place. Scheduling of Africa’s premier national competition has been a consistent issue.

‎This year’s tournament was pushed back from a planned summer start so it wouldn’t clash with FIFA’s new Club World Cup competition.

‎”What’s going to happen now is you’ll have the equivalent of an AFCON every year,” Motsepe said.

‎”You’ll have the best African players in the world participating and playing in African football at the highest level on the continent every year.”

‎Motsepe, who was flanked by FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström for the announcement, said CAF was “in discussions with all our stakeholders and taking into account the global fixtures.”

‎Grafström called it a “historic decision” and said FIFA would coordinate with CAF.

‎”First of all, it’s now up to CAF to decide where the [Africa Cup] competition will be played in 2028, and of course, to give the dates to us,” Grafström said.

‎”I want to stay in touch to coordinate as much as possible the dates, as we did for this edition as well. It took a bit of time, but in the end, the compromise was found, which was accepted by everyone.”

‎Switching AFCON to a four-year cycle aligns it with UEFA’s European Championship, the next edition of which will also be held in 2028.

‎”The AFCON now will take place once every four years,” Motsepe said.

‎”Because historically the AFCON was the prime focus where we could get resources to fund African football. In terms of this new dispensation, we will be getting resources every year.”

‎Having no AFCON in 2029 also ensures there’s no clash with the upcoming Club World Cup.