The Confederation of African Football (CAF) chief revealed the shift as part of a broader restructuring aimed at better aligning African football with the increasingly congested global calendar. Motsepe said the move would be complemented by the introduction of an annual African Nations League, modeled after UEFA’s Nations League, which is expected to boost revenue for national associations.
“Our focus now is on this AFCON, but in 2027 we will be going to Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, and the AFCON after that will be in 2028,” Motsepe told reporters in Rabat on the eve of this year’s tournament in Morocco. He confirmed that CAF would open a bidding process for countries interested in hosting the 2028 edition.
The Africa Cup of Nations has been held every two years since the inaugural 1957 tournament, but over the past 15 years, finding a suitable place in the international calendar has proven challenging. The 2019 edition in Egypt moved to June and July to avoid conflicts with European club seasons, but recent editions in Cameroon (2022) and Ivory Coast (2024) returned to the January-February window to bypass local rainy seasons.
This year’s tournament was initially scheduled for June-July but was rescheduled due to FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup in the United States. With the 2026 World Cup approaching and changes to the UEFA Champions League format, CAF decided to start the tournament in December and carry it into the New Year, taking advantage of a break in some European leagues.
Introducing the African Nations League
Motsepe explained that the new annual African Nations League would begin in 2029, after the FIFA Club World Cup, and would feature a regionalized format: 16 teams in the east, west, and central-southern zones, and six in the northern zone. Matches would take place in September and October, with the top teams from each zone advancing to a final tournament in November.
The Confederation also confirmed that prize money for the Morocco tournament would be increased to $10 million for the winners, up from $7 million in Ivory Coast in 2024, reflecting CAF’s commitment to rewarding African football talent.
“Our primary duty is to African football, but we also have a duty to the players from Africa playing for the best clubs in Europe,” Motsepe said. “We want to ensure more synchronization and that the global calendar allows the best African players to represent their countries every year.”
With these changes, CAF hopes to balance the demands of local competitions, international commitments, and European club schedules, while providing a more predictable and lucrative football calendar for African nations.