Patrice Motsepe Dragged for Shifting Africa Cup of Nations to Four Years Cycle
- Patrice Motsepe has been dragged for his recent move to shift the Africa Cup of Nations tournament to a four-year cycle competition
- The Confederation of African Football president announced the decision during CAF's executive meeting in Rabat, Morocco
- A sports journalist hits out at the former Mamelodi Sundowns chairman for bowing to the pressure of FIFA and European clubs
CAF president Patrice Motsepe has come under heavy criticism following his decision to shift the Africa Cup of Nations from a two-year cycle competition to a four-year cycle tournament after the 2025 edition in Morocco.
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The decision, which was made during the executive meeting held before the 2025 AFCON kicked off, has sparked widespread debate from football fans across the continent, with pundits and legends on the continent questioning the timing and potential impact of such a change on African football generally.
Critics argue that moving AFCON to a four-year cycle would reduce the tournament’s visibility and momentum, particularly at a time when the continent's football is striving for greater global relevance, especially after a successful outing at the last edition in Ivory Coast. Others fear it could limit opportunities for players, managers, and host nations, while also affecting development and revenue streams tied to the competition’s regular staging. Though the CAF president increased the prize money of the competition, the decision is still not acceptable to some football fans.
Despite some opposition to the new development, supporters of the idea believe the move could ease fixture congestion, especially for African players in Europe, align AFCON more closely with other major international tournaments like the Euros and the Copa America, and allow for improved planning and commercial growth for host nations.
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Motsepe also confirmed they would be introducing a new competition during that waiting period, but he has yet to confirm the plans for the new tournament.
Motsepe slammed for shifting the AFCON cycle
In an exclusive chat with Briefly News, sports journalist Michael Afolayan is not happy with Motsepe's decision to move the competition to a four-year cycle like the Euros and the Copa America.
He argued that the two-year window allows fans to enjoy the competition and implied that the CAF president bowed to the pressure from FIFA and European clubs, finding it difficult to release players during the January and February period when the AFCON is always played.
Source: Getty Images
"Motsepe is not doing this for the benefit of African football; rather, he is doing this to align with FIFA and European clubs clamouring for the competition schedule to be changed," he said.
"It would take years for Africans to adapt to this new four-year cycle because we are used to waiting for a year or two for us to enjoy our continental football tournament.
"This change to a four-year cycle won't stop European clubs from acting strangely anytime the AFCON competition is coming up; they will still find it hard to release their star players for the competition.
"The decision has been made already; let's just hope it will favour African football, which is the most important, and also the new tournament he's planning to introduce, let's see how that one goes too."
Khumalo blasts CAF and FIFA
Briefly News also reported that Doctor Khumalo hits out at CAF and FIFA over their controversial decision on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Bafana Bafana legend was not happy with CAF's decision, and believes the organisation is not protecting African football enough.
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Source: Briefly News
