Africa Cup of Nations may stay as a biennial event, says CAF chief Motsepe

CAF had declared the Africa Cup of Nations would beryllium held each 4 years, but whitethorn reverse that decision.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is reappraising its determination to clasp the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) each 4 years, CAF president Patrice Motsepe declared connected Friday, portion insisting his organisation did not instrumentality orders from FIFA oregon UEFA.

Motsepe, who past December announced the biennial AFCON would switch to a four-year cycle from 2028, said connected Friday that it was “nonsense, implicit rubbish” that CAF was being dictated to by either the satellite oregon European governing body.

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The determination astatine the time, bringing the contention to a docket that aligned with FIFA’s planetary calendar, rankled galore astatine the 2025 AFCON successful Morocco, with immoderate saying it was made with European wishes astatine bosom to the detriment of African interests.

Motsepe, a South African billionaire who is besides a vice-president of FIFA, appeared stung by the criticism.

“My No. 1 job, my No. 1 work is to protect, promote, and beforehand the interests of Africa,” helium said. “And determination are times erstwhile I person to basal steadfast and say, ‘Listen, we’re going to combat connected this issue.’ And determination are times erstwhile I person to say, ‘No.’

“The AFCON — due to the fact that this is 1 of the issues we’re talking astir — we took a determination arsenic Africa due to the fact that determination were tons of issues, but I tin warrant you we person discussed it implicit the past fewer days to accidental we are looking astatine everything, including having the AFCON coming backmost each 2 years,” Motsepe said. “We’re precise clear.”

He was speaking astatine the last time of CAF’s three-day strategy league successful Cape Verde. On Thursday, helium reiterated the 54-member body’s “unanimous” enactment for FIFA’s under-fire president Gianni Infantino, and Infantino reminded his imaginable predetermination voters of investments FIFA has made for African shot since gaining the occupation 10 years ago.

Motsepe reaffirmed the 2027 Africa Cup volition spell up arsenic planned successful Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda adjacent year, contempt recent media reports from France saying operation projects were not going to docket and immoderate CAF members were pushing to person the tourney moved.

“You person to judge successful Africa. There volition beryllium problems, determination volition beryllium failures, fine, but we volition beryllium there. That’s what Mandela taught us,” Motsepe said.