AFCON, Host Country Decisions, and Why African Football Needs an “Imbizo”

CAF’s recent decision to move the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from a biennial tournament to a four-year cycle, alongside the introduction of an African Nations League, may appear progressive on the surface. But scratch beneath the headlines and a familiar pattern emerges: decisions driven by compromise, imitation, and short-term convenience rather than a clear, Africa-first football strategy.

This is not a criticism of change for its own sake. African football must evolve. But evolution without reflection risks erosion of heritage, of commercial value, and of the emotional bond between the game and its people. What African football urgently needs now is not another copied competition or calendar adjustment, but a continent-wide conversation. An African Football Imbizo.

I deliberately use the Zulu word Imbizo, a gathering convened by leadership to consult widely, listen deeply, and chart a collective path forward. CAF President Patrice Motsepe will understand its meaning. African football needs such a forum now more than ever.

AFCON: More Than a Tournament

AFCON is older than the African Union. It predates the independence of most African nations. When the first tournament was played in 1957, only four African countries had broken free from colonial rule. That context matters.

For nearly seven decades, AFCON has been Africa’s greatest sporting unifier. Every two years, the continent pauses,  not just to watch football, but to see itself reflected. AFCON is hope for nations that may never reach a World Cup. It is culture, memory, rivalry, and pride. It is also CAF’s single most valuable commercial asset.

Yet over the last 20 years, AFCON has been steadily weakened by indecision and inconsistency: last-minute date changes, host country withdrawals, calendar clashes, and poor long-term planning. Instead of strengthening the tournament’s identity and value, CAF has allowed external pressures to reshape it.

Moving AFCON to a four-year cycle risks diluting what made it special in the first place.

The Calendar Myth

Much of the justification for recent changes rests on the international football calendar and conflicts with European clubs. But history tells a more nuanced story.

For decades, AFCON coexisted with European football without existential crisis. In the 1980s, European clubs routinely flew African stars to tournaments on private jets and back for league matches. AFCON 1980 was played in March. AFCON 1984 and 1986 thrived despite club-country tensions.

The real problems began not because of the calendar, but because of expansion, poor negotiation, and lack of strategic consistency.

AFCON 2019, held in Egypt in June–July, proved that a summer tournament works. There were no major club disputes, no calendar chaos, and no competition from the FIFA Club World Cup. Yet CAF failed to lock down that window. Instead, AFCON 2021 and 2023 were pushed back into January,  citing rainfall concerns that ring hollow when qualifiers and World Cup matches are played year-round across the tropics.

The result? AFCON 2025 is being staged over Christmas,  the most important family and travel period on the African calendar. Can anyone imagine the European Championship or Copa América being held over Christmas? Why should African fans be asked to choose between family, tradition, and their biggest football event?

This is not alignment. It is compromise at Africa’s expense.

Heritage vs Imitation

CAF has developed a worrying habit of copying UEFA structures without adapting them to African realities.

The CAF Champions League replaced the African Cup of Champions, a tournament that once defined African club football and produced legends before they ever went to Europe. The new format promised growth and glamour, but instead disrupted domestic leagues, created travel nightmares, and stripped away much of the competition’s soul.

The Confederation Cup replaced the African Cup Winners’ Cup, also known as the Mandela Cup , not because it failed Africa, but because UEFA scrapped its equivalent.

CHAN, the African Nations Championship, was introduced as an “original” idea but has largely become a scouting exhibition for European clubs, rather than a catalyst for strengthening African domestic leagues.

Now comes the African Nations League, another UEFA import.

UEFA’s Nations League exists to replace meaningless friendlies and generate extra revenue in a continent with seamless travel, elite infrastructure, and mature commercial ecosystems. Africa has none of these conditions at scale. During recent World Cup qualifiers, several nations were forced to host “home” games in foreign countries due to inadequate facilities, often in near-empty stadiums.

In that context, what exactly will an African Nations League achieve beyond fixture congestion and diluted attention?

AFCON does not need an annual substitute. It needs protection.

Host Country Decisions Without Vision

Host country inconsistency has been one of AFCON’s biggest self-inflicted wounds.

In 2007, CAF announced four hosts at once, Angola 2010, Equatorial Guinea & Gabon 2012, Libya 2013,  based largely on assumptions about oil wealth and infrastructure readiness. Libya imploded politically, forcing a late switch to South Africa. Other hosts built stadiums but failed to fully capitalise on the opportunity due to poor promotion and planning.

Today, we know AFCON 2027 will be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Yet as attention focuses on Morocco 2025, how much deliberate marketing is already being done to position East Africa as the next AFCON destination?

Major tournaments are not just organised; they are sold years in advance.

CAF should be planning host nations and promotional strategies on a 10-year cycle, aligned with World Cups and Club World Cups, to maximise visibility, tourism, and commercial returns. Instead, decisions remain reactive and fragmented.

The Forgotten Jewel: African Fans

Perhaps the most damaging blind spot in CAF’s decision-making is its failure to understand the value of African fans.

Africa has over one billion people, the youngest population in the world, and a mobile-first, digitally engaged fan base that lives and breathes football. European clubs know this. That is why their social media accounts overflow with African engagement. That is why global brands partner with European teams to reach African consumers,  not CAF.

AFCON 2024 and 2025 demonstrated what is possible when tournaments are staged close together: surging viewership, sponsorship growth, broadcast expansion, and renewed continental excitement. Yet instead of building on this momentum, CAF risks fragmenting attention with a new competition that lacks history, meaning, or emotional resonance.

Fans do not fall in love with formats. They fall in love with stories, rivalries, and tradition.

AFCON has those in abundance if CAF chooses to nurture them.

Why Africa Needs an Imbizo

African football stands at a crossroads. Aligning with the global calendar and respecting European clubs is necessary but it should not come at the cost of Africa’s football soul.

CAF must convene an African Football Imbizo, a genuine, inclusive forum bringing together federations, leagues, clubs, players, broadcasters, sponsors, digital experts, and fan representatives. Not to rubber-stamp decisions already made, but to ask hard questions:

What should AFCON represent in the next 30 years? How do we build club competitions that serve African realities? How do we monetise African fan engagement on African terms? How do we stop copying and start leading?

AFCON does not need to be diluted to survive. It needs to be defended, modernised intelligently, and celebrated unapologetically.

Africa does not lack passion, talent, or audience. What it lacks and urgently needs is strategic clarity rooted in its own identity.

That conversation must begin now.

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