At a recent meeting of the CAF executive committee in Rabat, a decision was made to transition the Africa Cup to a four-year cycle. This was announced by the president of the confederation, Patrice Motsepe.
The Africa Cup, which has been held every two years since 1957 and generated about 80% of CAF's revenue, will be organized in this new format for the first time. The next tournament, scheduled for 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, will still take place as planned, after which the competitions will be held every four years. To compensate for this transition, CAF plans to launch an annual African Nations League starting in 2029.
Patrice Motsepe also noted that the new schedule will help improve the financial situation of the organization, better synchronize tournaments with the FIFA calendar, and reduce the burden on African athletes playing in European clubs.
Additionally, a decision was made to increase the prize fund: the winning team of the current Africa Cup will receive $10 million, which is significantly more compared to the $7 million awarded to the previous champion - the Ivory Coast national team.
