RABAT, Morocco (AP) — African soccer is running the world. africa cup of nations A four-year cycle will begin in 2028, and a new Association of African Nations will be established in 2029.
Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe announced the changes on Saturday at a press conference ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup, hosted by Morocco.
Motsepe said the 2027 Africa Cup, to be held in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, would go ahead as scheduled, while the next tournament, originally scheduled for 2029, would be brought forward to 2028. The next African Cup will be in 2032.
This allows the first African Nations League to be held in 2029. Motsepe said the African Nations League will involve the continent’s 54 member nations, divided into four geographical zones, with matches to be played in September and October, and the final in November.
“There will be a competition every year where the best African players who play in Europe and around the world will join us on the continent,” Motsepe said.
He could not say when the 2028 Africa Cup would be held. Scheduling Africa’s premier domestic tournament has been a consistent challenge. This year’s tournament was postponed from its scheduled start in the summer to avoid conflicts with FIFA’s revised regulations. club world cup.
“What’s going to happen is that we’re going to have something equivalent to AFCON every year,” Motsepe said. “Each year, the world’s best African players participate and play in African football at the continent’s highest level.”
Motsepe, flanked by FIFA Secretary-General Matthias Grafström, said CAF was “consulting with all stakeholders and taking into account the global content of the game.”
Grafström called it a “historic decision” and said FIFA would coordinate with CAF.
“This time as well, we hope to stay in touch to arrange dates as much as possible,” Grafström said. “It took some time, but in the end a compromise was found and everyone accepted it.”
Switching the African Cup from a biennial to a four-year cycle will coincide with the next UEFA European Championship, which will be held in 2028.
“Historically, AFCON has been the main focal point where resources can be obtained to fund African football,” Motsepe said. “As for this new dispensation, we will have resources every year.”
Not hosting the Africa Cup in 2029 also means there will be no conflict with the next Club World Cup.
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Associated Press on Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
