The Africa Cup of Nations will be staged every four years following an edition planned for 2028 in a major change to what is currently a biennial showpiece, African football chief Patrice Motsepe announced on Saturday, January 20.

The Confederation of African Football president revealed the change as part of a significant restructuring of the international game on the continent to help it fit better into a packed global calendar. An AFCON every two years was a vital source of revenue for African national associations, but Motsepe said the introduction of an annual African Nations League competition – similar to the UEFA Nations League – would now help boost coffers instead.

“Our focus now is on this AFCON but in 2027 we will be going to Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, and the AFCON after that will be in 2028,” Motsepe told reporters in Rabat on Saturday, on the eve of the opening game of this year’s Morocco-hosted Cup of Nations. “Then after the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029 we will have the first African Nations League (…) with more prize money, more resources, more competition.

He added that “as part of this arrangement, the AFCON now will take place once every four years.”

The Cup of Nations has usually been held at two-year intervals since the very first edition in 1957. But over the last 15 years, it has struggled to find a convenient place in the global calendar. This year’s tournament in Morocco will be the eighth to be held going back to the 2012 edition in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.