CAF Announces Major Shake-Up: AFCON to Hold Every Four Years from 2028, Annual African Nations League Unveiled

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled sweeping reforms to its international competition calendar, confirming that the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be staged once every four years starting from 2028, alongside the introduction of a new annual African Nations League.
CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe announced the decision on Saturday in Morocco, ahead of the kickoff of the 2025 AFCON, which begins on Sunday with Comoros taking on the host nation.

Motsepe confirmed that the 2027 AFCON, to be co-hosted by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, will proceed as planned. However, the next edition—initially scheduled for 2029—has been moved forward to 2028, with the subsequent tournament set for 2032.

The revised calendar creates room for the launch of the African Nations League in 2029, an annual competition that will feature all 54 CAF member associations. The tournament will be organised into four regional zones, with matches played in September and October, culminating in finals scheduled for November each year.

“There’s going to be a competition every year where the best African players based in Europe and across the world will return to play on the continent,” Motsepe said. “African football will be at its highest level every single year.”

Motsepe admitted that scheduling AFCON has remained a long-standing challenge, often clashing with global football events. The 2025 tournament, for instance, was moved from a summer window to avoid overlapping with FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup.

“What this means is that African football fans will effectively have an AFCON-level competition every year,” he added. “The best African players in the world will be competing on the continent annually.”

The announcement was made in the presence of FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström, who described the decision as “historic” and pledged FIFA’s full cooperation in coordinating international fixtures.

“It is now up to CAF to decide the host country and dates for the 2028 AFCON,” Grafström said. “FIFA will continue to work closely with CAF to ensure alignment with the global football calendar, as we successfully did for the 2025 edition.”

Switching AFCON to a four-year cycle aligns the tournament with UEFA’s European Championship, which will also take place in 2028. Motsepe explained that the reform will allow CAF to secure sustainable funding for African football through annual competitions, rather than relying primarily on AFCON revenues.

The absence of an AFCON in 2029 will also prevent a clash with the next FIFA Club World Cup.
The reforms mark a significant turning point for African football, aimed at improving competitiveness, calendar stability, and commercial growth while ensuring elite African players feature regularly on the continent.