The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, on Saturday, December 20, announced that the competition will be held every four years from 2028.
These remarks came at a time when the announcement carried added significance for Kenya, as the country prepares to co-host the 2027 AFCON alongside Uganda and Tanzania, an edition that will now mark the final tournament under the traditional two-year cycle.
Under the revised schedule, this year's AFCON will be held in Morocco, followed by the East Africa edition in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania under the “Pamoja” joint bid.
CAF will then stage an additional “bridge” tournament in 2028, with the host nation yet to be announced, before fully transitioning to a quadrennial format from 2032 onwards.
Motsepe said the changes were made after consultations with FIFA to resolve the persistent scheduling conflicts that have long affected AFCON, particularly clashes with European club competitions.
Since 1968, the tournament’s two-year cycle has often forced CAF to shift dates between summer and winter, creating logistical and commercial challenges.
"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.
Four regional zones, with matches played during FIFA international windows between September and November.
In another boost for the game, CAF confirmed an increase in AFCON prize money, with the reward raised from USD7 million (about Ksh900 million in the current exchange rates) to USD10 million (about Ksh1.3 billion in the current exchange rates) in order to make African competitions more attractive commercially and to reinvest more resources into grassroots and national team development.
FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström was also present during the announcement. He termed the shift a “historic decision” and said FIFA would continue working closely with CAF to coordinate international fixtures. He noted that CAF would still need to confirm dates and the host for the 2028 bridge tournament.
"First of all, it's now up to CAF to decide where the competition will be played in 2028, and of course, to give the dates to us," Grafström said. "I want to stay in touch in order 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," he stated.
