Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe has confirmed that the body is considering a return to a two-year Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), barely 10 months after he announced that the tournament would move to a four-year cycle. The possible reversal has sharpened questions about his leadership, with claims surfacing this week that some officials have lost confidence in him and that potential successors, including Cameroon football chief Samuel Eto’o, are quietly positioning themselves.
Motsepe spoke on Friday, October 9, at the close of a three-day CAF strategy conference in Cape Verde attended by presidents of all 54 member associations. “We are looking into bringing AFCON back to every two years. That’s under review,” he told journalists. He stopped short of announcing a final decision. A return to the biennial format is reportedly expected to be confirmed when CAF’s executive committee meets in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, next month.
The about-turn would undo one of the biggest calendar changes in African football history. AFCON has been staged roughly every two years since its first edition in 1957. In December 2025, Motsepe announced that the tournament would hold editions in 2027 and 2028 before switching to a four-year cycle from 2032, alongside a new annual African Nations League. The decision drew criticism from some quarters that it served European club interests, a charge Motsepe has rejected.
The two-year format has influential supporters on the continent. Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle, who renewed his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation in June, has argued that regular tournament exposure is vital to the development of African teams. For Nigeria, which finished third at the last AFCON in Morocco, a biennial cycle would mean more competitive matches and more chances at a title last won in 2013.
The criticism now centres less on the format than on how the change emerged. Most national association presidents were reportedly unaware that Motsepe planned to raise the matter until it came up in Cape Verde. Neither Motsepe nor CAF has publicly responded to claims about discontent among officials.
Eto’o, the former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker who heads the Cameroonian Football Federation and sits on CAF’s executive committee, is among those said to be eyeing the top job. Other names linked to a possible contest include Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania, Yacine Idriss Diallo of Côte d’Ivoire and Souleiman Waberi, a FIFA Council member from Djibouti. Waberi has reportedly been charged with embezzlement and money laundering, allegations he denies.
Motsepe, a South African mining billionaire, was first elected unopposed in 2021 and returned for a second term in 2025. He said in Cape Verde that he would not seek a third term when his mandate ends in 2029. Any earlier exit would require either his voluntary departure or the statutory route, under which an extraordinary general assembly can be convened following a written request from at least two-thirds of the executive committee.
The relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino is a key factor. At the same conference, Motsepe declared that CAF’s 54 associations had taken a unanimous decision to “unconditionally support” Infantino’s re-election at the FIFA Congress in Rabat on March 18, 2027. That bloc represents 54 of FIFA’s 211 voting members, or about 25.6 per cent of the electorate, the largest single confederation vote. Between 10 and 15 African associations were, however, said in August to be considering voting against Infantino.
Ties between the two men were reportedly strained after Motsepe allowed Somali referee Omar Artan, who had been refused entry into the United States for the 2026 World Cup, to officiate UEFA’s Super Cup final in August. Relations are said to have improved in recent weeks as Infantino seeks to consolidate African support.
Money is also part of the picture. Motsepe reportedly promised annual distributions of about $700,000 to each member association, an increase of $500,000 on the previous figure. On those numbers, CAF’s yearly payout to its 54 members would rise from about $10.8 million to $37.8 million. He is also said to have raised attendance fees for executive committee members from $150 to $350 per meeting, a rise of about 133 per cent, and introduced an annual bonus of about $8,000.
Those commitments come as CAF’s commercial future remains uncertain. Its broadcast agreement with IMG expires after the 2027 AFCON, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and scheduled for June and July. CAF has said the process for future rights is ongoing and that no broadcast rights have yet been awarded. How a return to a two-year tournament would affect the value of that package, and the planned African Nations League, has not been explained.
The Abidjan meeting next month is the next fixed point. It is expected to settle the AFCON calendar, and may offer the clearest signal yet of how much support Motsepe retains within his own executive committee.