CAF consults member federations over return to biennial Africa Cup of Nations

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is understood to have written to all 54 of its member federations as it considers whether the Africa Cup of Nations should return to a two-year cycle.

The proposal was announced by CAF president Patrice Motsepe several weeks ago and is now being put to the confederations for consultation. Federation responses are reportedly due by Wednesday 28 October at the latest.

The process is expected to allow CAF’s member associations to contribute to a decision that could be made in November, when the organisation’s executive committee meets in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

According to journalist Ebenezer Michael Danso Deveer, also known as Micky Jnr, CAF’s letter asks the federations to choose between staging the Africa Cup of Nations every two years or retaining the current four-year interval.

The consultation appears to follow criticism from federation presidents who, according to The Guardian, had not been informed that Motsepe intended to announce plans to change the tournament’s frequency before he did so in early October.

CAF has reportedly warned in its circular that keeping the four-year schedule could have financial consequences. It said that maintaining the current cycle would require another competition to compensate for the loss of revenue resulting from the reduced frequency of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Motsepe has previously announced plans for an African Nations League to be held every two years. However, CAF is understood to have told its members that a new tournament could take several years before it began producing significant income for the confederation and its member federations.

The apparent preference among federation leaders is currently for the Africa Cup of Nations to be played every two years. Investigative journalist Romain Molina says most federation presidents support the change.

The reported exceptions are Ahmed Yahya and Souleiman Waberi, the presidents of the Mauritania and Djibouti football federations respectively. Both are members of CAF’s executive committee.

The possible return to a biennial tournament comes less than a year after Motsepe made a major announcement in December 2025 that the Africa Cup of Nations would move to a four-year cycle from 2028.

Molina has attributed the reversal to the dispute between UEFA and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has the unconditional backing of CAF, rather than to Africa’s financial interests.

The outcome of the consultation is expected to be considered at the CAF executive committee meeting in November.