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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Osasu Obayiuwana

Afcon’s biennial switch cost African governing body deal worth more than $1bn

Youssef En-Nesyri and Morocco teammates shout and embrace celebrating a win
Caf has opened a fresh tender for the marketing and commercial rights of the next three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

A deal worth at least $1bn in secured income over eight years was abandoned by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) because the governing body decided to switch the Africa Cup of Nations from a biennial to a four-yearly event, the Guardian can reveal.

On 5 July 2025, the eve of the delayed Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, the Caf president, Patrice Motsepe, told the Guardian in Rabat, after a prolonged discussion of the bidding process at an executive committee meeting, that a decision on a winning bid would be made “in due course”.

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