Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae has backed the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decision to play the Africa Cup of Nations every four years instead of two, insisting the change could benefit the development of football on the continent.
Before the commencement of the AFCON 2025 in Morocco, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, the President of CAF confirmed the continental showpiece will be held every four from 2028.
The continental showpiece has been staged every two years since 1968, with the only exception being a one-year gap between the 2012 and 2013 editions.
The current format will conclude with the 2027 tournament in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, after which the competition will transition to a four-year schedule starting in 2028, a decision that has been heavily criticized by some on the continent who see it as bowing to pressure from leading European clubs and FIFA.
Motsepe also revealed plans to introduce an African Nations League, which is expected to be held annually from 2029.
“It can be a good thing if alongside that we do what we need to do for the development of African football,” he told AFP.
“We are lucky in Africa now to have better infrastructure, better structured teams, better players, most of whom play for the best teams in Europe,” added Fae, who led the Elephants to the AFCON title in 2024.
“Holding the AFCON every four years would mean having a major tournament every two years with the World Cup too, but there needs to be another major competition in Africa like the planned Nations League.
“That would allow us to have games between teams like Morocco and Senegal every year, or Ivory Coast against Tunisia and Algeria against Mali.
“And I don’t think that would penalise the smaller nations because I don’t know that them losing games 5-0 or 6-0 really raises the level of African football.
“If they play against other teams of their level with the aim of being promoted, I think everyone will be a winner.”
The scheduling of AFCON has been a recurring challenge in recent years. The last three editions were rescheduled, with the 2021 tournament played in 2022 due to infrastructure delays in Cameroon, and the 2023 edition moved to early 2024 for similar reasons.
CAF had previously attempted to shift the tournament from its traditional January to February window to June and July, but only the 2019 edition in Egypt was held during that period, with extreme heat affecting performances.
Tournaments in West Africa have also struggled with a June to July slot because of heavy rainfall and the risk of flooding. The Morocco 2025 tournament was initially planned for June and July, but the expansion of FIFA’s Club World Cup to 32 teams, scheduled for the same period, forced a change.
