The decision to move the Africa Cup of Nations from being a biennial competition to a quadrennial one has been one of the biggest talking points in recent weeks. Who exactly does it benefit? Modern versus traditional.
Africa versus European influence. That is the primary debate between those who are for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) being every two years, and those who are for the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf’s) announcement that the tournament will now take place every four years. Caf confirmed that the 2027 Afcon, which will be co-hosted by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, will proceed as planned.
But the next edition, which would normally take place two years later, will now be brought forward by a year. Which means it will be played in 2028. Thereafter, the next Afcon tournament will be held in 2032.
Read Full Article on Daily Maverick
[paywall]
Subsequent editions will take place every four years, in sync with the frequency of the Fifa World Cup, as well as other continental competitions such as the European Championship and South America’s Copa America. “Our objective is very clear: African football must be among the best in the world, among the most successful. It starts on the field of play,” said Caf president Patrice Motsepe.
“In life people respect you based on results. They don’t look at your plans and strategies.” Motsepe, who took over the Caf presidency from the disgracedAhmad Ahmadin 2021, is confident that this latest decision will be another win for the custodian of African soccer under his guidance. The Mamelodi Sundowns owner has already galvanised the organisationfinancially and in terms of governance during his tenure.
“We’ve set very high standards for ourselves and we’ve made good progress. We take motivation from the quantifiable successes. But we’re very clear that there is still significant progress to be made and more work to be done,” Motsepe said.
According to Motsepe, the next point of progress for Africa’s soccer sphere is for its premier soccer competition to ditch its biennial cycle and move to a quadrennial one. But this hasbeen met with opposition. Critics have questioned whether this move to a four-year cycle is Africa pandering to Europe and Fifa.
The frequency of Afcon has long been a contentious issue among European soccer clubs, where some of Africa’s biggest stars play. To understand the opposition from some Africans, one has to rewind all the way back to the late 1950s, when Afcon was conceptualised. It came as a result of Africa’s initial exclusion from the Fifa World Cup.
Because they weren’t guaranteed a slot at the global showpiece, Africans needed their own national team tournament to advance the continent’s soccer landscape – on and off the field. In order to fast-track the growth of the continent’s soccer and catch up with the rest of the world (on and off the field), it was decided that Afcon would take place every two years. At the time, there were not as many African players in European leagues.
[/paywall]
