The African cup of nation trophy. Photo by: ImagoxThor Wegner/DeFodi Images
The President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, has confirmed plans to increase the number of AFCON participants, Soccernet.ng reports.
CAF and the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) have been in the limelight for both good and bad reasons over the last few months.
The 2025 AFCON, which concluded in January, attracted significant negative attention following CAF’s controversial decision to strip Senegal of the title and award it to Morocco.
Meanwhile, the competition has been undergoing several changes. Recently, Motsepe announced a restructuring of the tournament that would see the competition held once every four years.
This decision was reached to make way for the newly introduced CAF Nations League, which will be held every two years. However, Motsepe has now revealed further plans for the revamped version of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Patrice Motsepe Confirms New Number of Teams For AFCON
CAF held its executive meeting on Sunday, and during the subsequent briefing, Patrice Motsepe confirmed that the number of teams competing at AFCON will be increased to 28.
This is a four-team increment from the current 24-team format. Under the new structure, there will be seven groups of four teams each.
CAF BRIEFS MEDIA FOLLOWING ITS EXECUTIVE MEETING
CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe: we have a new African competition to replace African Nations League (CHAN) with two competition,which is African Nations League Continental and African Nations League
AFCON will be played every… pic.twitter.com/QTs6DqlMSG
— RushSportsNews (@rushsportsnews) March 29, 2026
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Round of 16. However, it remains to be seen how the remaining two spots for the knockout stage will be determined.
Aside from these updates, everything is expected to go as planned, with the 2027 edition set to be hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, barring any last-minute changes. The next edition will then be in 2031.
With the expansion, major teams like Ghana and Guinea, who missed the 2025 edition, now have a better shot at qualifying.
For Nigeria, the change may not feel drastic. By the time the 2027 edition kicks off, it will have been 14 years since the Super Eagles last tasted continental glory.
Nigeria finished third in the most recent edition in Morocco, but Eric Chelle will be hoping to lead his squad to ultimate success next time out.