By Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (December 30^th 2025)

The Fruits of the Poisoned Tree

The dust has had time to settle since the President of the African Football Confederation (CAF) Dr Patrice Motsepe announced at his pre-tournament press conference almost two weeks ago that the historic Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) would change with the times. Gianni Infantino, the current President of FIFA has made no secret of his desire to curtail AFCON to suit the needs and wishes of European football.

Infantino is a European, a former General-Secretary of Europe’s governing body. It is not surprising that he remains a European at heart, and knowns that Europe remains the dominant confederation in world football. But Infantino claims to be Africa’s friend – champion even.

Would a friend and champion of Africa disparage the continent’s flagship tournament. The late Issa Hayatou explained clearly and concisely, but firmly too that Africa needed to have AFCONs every year. CAF, under his governance saw it as a chance to develop African football, its infrastructures and the economies of host nations.

He wanted the whole of Africa to have its turn and for development to occur, not just in football, but through it, hospitality infrastructures – hotels, roads, transport systems and much more. An AFCON every two years was essential to achieve this. Hayatou is no longer with us, but his mission is. Has it been achieved?

The answer is an obvious no. So, what does that mean? For Africa, it means countries will lag behind in all these areas and also on the football pitch. Morocco and Egypt in particular have the resources to deliver much of this and more. They do not need to host to develop their nations, but others do. Without it they will fall behind on and off the pitch.

Priorities

During his explanation of the decisions of the ExCo, President Motsepe announced that the prize money the winners would receive had been increased by 44% in less than 5 years. Excellent for the winners who are likely to be an already established force in African football, but won’t that increase the gap between the haves and have-nots of African football?

And worse still the opportunities for countries to benefit from an unexpected win of Africa’s most prestigious tournament has been halved as the ExCo agreed to long-standing European demand and Infantino’s wish that AFCON only be hosted every four years. From 2028 unless the decision is changed, AFCON will only occur every four years. That means Hayatou’s mission and vision is in tatters. There are 54 counties in CAF. How can hosting every four years allow countries to develop as they need to on and off the pitch?

Motespe announced that a new tournament involving all members of CAF, the African Nations League will take place between September and November every year. The questions are will that address the gaps in Hayatou’s vision and how will people react to the dismantling of AFCON’s tradition?