\n<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Caf has increased the prize money for the winners of Afcon from $7m (\u00a35.2m) to $10m (\u00a37.5m).<\/p>\n
The surprise announcement about the future of Afcon was made by Motsepe after a meeting of Caf’s executive committee in Morocco before the start of the 2025 finals in Rabat on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The biennial hosting of Afcon has long caused issues with the football calendar – with the vast majority of recent tournaments held midway through the European club season.<\/p>\n
Caf had made a resolution for Afcon to be held in a June-July slot from 2019 onwards and began its new plan in Egypt that year.<\/p>\n
But the Covid-19 pandemic and weather conditions in host nations in West Africa meant the 2021 and 2023 editions in Cameroon and Ivory Coast respectively were staged in January and February instead.<\/p>\n
Fifa’s expanded 32-team Club World Cup was held in June and July this year, forcing Caf to opt for mid-season dates once again.<\/p>\n
As a result this year’s Afcon in Morocco will take place over Christmas and the New Year for the first time, with the final on 18 January.<\/p>\n
The dates for the finals in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2027 are yet to be announced, and that will be swiftly followed by another Afcon in 2028 – with the hosts of that edition yet to be decided.<\/p>\n
After that, the continent’s biggest tournament will become a quadrennial tournament taking place in the same year as the European Championships.<\/p>\n
Motsepe said the decision had been made in conjunction with Fifa president Gianni Infantino and the world governing body’s general secretary Mattias Grafstrom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n