The Confederation of African Football is reappraising its decision to hold the Africa Cup of Nations every four years, CAF president Patrice Motsepe said on Friday, adding that his organization does not take orders from FIFA or UEFA.
Motsepe, who last December announced the biennial Africa Cup would switch to a four-year cycle starting in 2028, called it "nonsense, absolute rubbish" to suggest CAF was being dictated to by either the world or European governing body.
That December decision, which brought the competition onto a schedule aligned with FIFA's international calendar, drew criticism from many at the Africa Cup in Morocco, with some arguing it served European wishes at the expense of African interests. Motsepe, a South African billionaire who also serves as a FIFA vice-president, appeared stung by that criticism.
"My No. 1 job, my No. 1 duty is to protect, promote, and advance the interests of Africa," he said. "And there are times when I have to stand firm and say, 'Listen, we're going to fight on this issue.' And there are times when I have to say, 'No.'"
"The AFCON -- because this is one of the issues we're talking about -- we took a decision as Africa because there were lots of issues, but I can guarantee you we have discussed it over the last few days to say we are looking at everything, including having the AFCON coming back every two years," Motsepe said. "We're very clear."
He made the comments on the final day of CAF's three-day strategy conference in Cape Verde. A day earlier, he had reiterated the 54-member body's "unanimous" support for FIFA's under-fire president Gianni Infantino, who reminded his potential election voters of investments FIFA has made for African soccer since he took office ten years ago.
2027 Tournament Plans Unchanged
Motsepe also reaffirmed that the next Africa Cup will go ahead as planned in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda next year, despite recent media reports from France suggesting construction projects were behind schedule and that some CAF members were pushing to have the tournament moved.
"You have to believe in Africa. There will be problems, there will be failures, fine, but we will be there. That's what Mandela taught us," Motsepe said.
