Is Afcon move to four-year cycle Motsepe’s vision or pandering to Europe?

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.

Two becomes four

Thereafter, the next Afcon tournament will be held in 2032. 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 disgraced Ahmad Ahmad in 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 organisation financially 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.

Who benefits?

But this has been 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.

But in 2020, Fifa president Gianni Infantino suggested that Africa move its schedule to a four-year cycle, while addressing African soccer leaders, saying: “The Afcon generates 20 times less than the Euros. Having the Afcon every two years, is that good at the commercial level? Has this developed the infrastructure?

“We have been talking about the development of African football for many years. Pelé once said that an African team would win the World Cup. But this hasn’t happened and it seems we are not making progress. Today must be the day we turn that page,” Infantino said.

Adamant Motsepe

Years later, it seems as if Africa has heard these cries, as well as those of European clubs that express displeasure whenever their best African players have to leave for national duty at Afcon every two years. Nonetheless, Motsepe has denied that this is the reason for the change.

“We are absolutely convinced that we won’t simply adhere to a competition simply because it’s been there for the past few years. And the assertion that we will run Africa for Europe is absolute nonsense. You’re insulting us. We run Africa for Africa,” the Caf president said.

“We must free ourselves as Africans and have more confidence in ourselves. It should not be about Fifa says this or Uefa says this. We can be convinced we are doing the right things. But it is important everyone on the continent is convinced we are doing the right things, too,” he said.

“We have to educate our people on the decisions we have taken. We know that in a few years people will see what we are talking about.”

To compensate for the lack of regular African soccer, as has been common over the decades, Motsepe announced the inception of the African Nations League, starting in 2029.

Much like the European Nations League, it will take place in the years when there is no Afcon – with a final and trophy at the end of it all. Motsepe says this new competition will ensure that African soccer increases its overall competitiveness and revenue.

“Part of my objective is to make sure that the African Nations League competes with the Afcon,” Motsepe said. “So, at the minimum, you have to make the African Nations League as exciting as Afcon.

“Our job is to do what is in the best interest of African football. So, sometimes we have to take unpopular decisions,” he added.

So far most of the decisions taken by Caf under Motsepe have been fruitful. The federation will work hard to ensure that this move to a quadrennial Afcon is another one of the positives. But the pressure for success is immense. DM