October 14: CAF is preparing to reverse the course of the Africa Cup of Nations and restore its biennial cycle, just 10 months after Patrice Motsepe announced the continent’s flagship tournament would move to every four years.
The change is expected to go to CAF’s executive committee in Abidjan next month and is gathering broad support among African associations. But the speed of the reversal has exposed fresh questions about how major decisions are being made in the confederation as heat increases on Motsepe’s position.
Several federation presidents were reportedly unaware that Motsepe intended to reopen the AFCON frequency debate before last week’s strategy conference in Cape Verde. The original four-year plan had only been announced in December and was introduced as part of a wider overhaul of CAF’s national team calendar, as it aligned with FIFA’s request for a wider international calendar.
Motsepe’s comments have once again changed the calendar’s thinking. Until July, CAF invited bids to host AFCON in 2028, 2032 and 2036, while promising a senior men’s national team competition in all non-World Cup years. A return to a two-year AFCON cycle would mean the abandonment of this proposed calendar.
The immediate issue for CAF is 2027 when it is scheduled to hold its next AFCON in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from June 19 to July 17. While Motsepe has publicly backed the hosts during inspection visits last month, and CAF said progress had been made, much remains to be done on the stadium, transport and the tournament, there are still doubts over the project before next summer, and whether there will be three clear infrastructure doubts. be ready on time
One possibility for the tournament is to play it again over the Christmas and New Year period, but that would leave the tournament in conflict with the European club season it has tried so hard to separate itself from.
The current uncertainty is in a context of unrest around the current CAF president.
The South African billionaire has said he has no intention of seeking a third term when his term expires in 2029, and potential successors are already beginning to circulate.
Cameroon’s federation president Samuel Eto’o, Mauritania’s Ahmed Yahya and Ivory Coast’s federation chief Yacine Idriss Diallo are among the names rumored to be ready to run for the presidency.
Motsepe used the Cape Verde meeting to pledge what he described as Africa’s unanimous and unconditional support for Infantino’s re-election next March, despite indications that several African associations are unconvinced.
There’s also a trade deadline on the horizon. CAF’s current broadcast deal with IMG expires after AFCON 2027 and the confederation is considering bids for its next rights cycle. How often your biggest tournament is played is obviously important to the value of this package.
CAF is trying to juggle the future of its most valuable competition with uncertainty over the reception of its next edition, its broadcasting cycle and who will ultimately lead the organization beyond the Motsepe era.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)
