Will a biennial Afcon keep pulling players out of the Premier League?

The tournament and its cycle

The Africa Cup of Nations, usually shortened to Afcon, is the senior men's international championship of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), the body that governs the game across the continent. National teams qualify through a group stage spread over the international windows. The finals are then played in one or more host countries over a few weeks.

What sets Afcon apart from the other major continental championships is how often it is played. The European Championship, the Copa América in most of its modern editions and the World Cup all run on four-year cycles, or close to it. Afcon has traditionally been held every two years. When people talk about its "cycle", they mean that gap between finals, and the gap shapes Caf's finances, the international calendar and the working lives of players based at clubs abroad.

Origins of the debate

Afcon is one of the oldest continental competitions in world football, and being biennial has been part of its identity for most of its history. Changing that has been debated for a long time, and the arguments have barely changed.

Supporters of a longer gap say that a tournament every two years crowds the calendar and puts heavy demands on players. In their view it also weakens the event's prestige, and clashes with the World Cup cycle and with European club seasons. Supporters of the biennial format answer that Afcon is Caf's main shop window and its biggest source of commercial income. A two-year rhythm gives more countries a chance to host, and more chances to fund stadiums and infrastructure around the finals.

Last December, Caf decided to move to a four-year cycle. The BBC now reports that the confederation has done a U-turn, and that Afcon will stay on its two-year rhythm. The material available here does not say who pushed for the reversal, which arguments won, or whether member associations, broadcasters or sponsors played a part. Those details are not known from the reporting cited.

How the system works today

Afcon is a governing body's championship sitting inside a global calendar it does not fully control. FIFA publishes an international match calendar that sets the windows when clubs must release players to national teams, and it names the final tournaments that clubs are obliged to release players for. Under FIFA's rules on player release, a club cannot normally refuse to let a selected player join his national team for a recognised final tournament. The club is not paid a wage for the release period in the ordinary way, although compensation schemes linked to some competitions exist.

That is where the cycle matters to the Premier League. Afcon has at times been played in the northern-hemisphere winter, partly because of the climate in many host countries. When that happens, English clubs lose African international players in the middle of their domestic season, at a point when league, cup and European fixtures overlap. A biennial cycle means this disruption can come back every second season. A four-year cycle would have halved how often it happens. Keeping two years means clubs will go on planning squads, recruitment and contract decisions around a recurring absence.

For Caf, the logic runs the other way. Broadcast rights, sponsorship and hosting fees attached to the finals help fund the confederation and, through it, its member associations. Holding the finals less often would mean fewer such events in any given period unless something else filled the gap. When the December plan was announced, there was talk of new competitions to fill the years in between, but how far those ideas got, and what happens to them after this reversal, is not clear from the material available.

Common misunderstandings

One frequent mistake is to assume that the four-year plan had already taken effect. It had not. It was a decision about future editions, and the BBC reports that it has now been reversed before it changed the tournament's rhythm.

A second is to believe that clubs can simply keep players back when Afcon is played during the European season. FIFA's release rules apply to tournaments on the international calendar. Clubs may negotiate, appeal or question medical fitness through proper channels, but they have no general right to refuse.

A third is to assume that Afcon always takes place in January and February. Its timing has moved between windows over the years depending on hosts, climate and the wider calendar. The cycle (how often it happens) and the window (when in the year it happens) are separate questions, and only the first is settled by this decision.

A fourth is to read the reversal as proof that the four-year argument has been lost for good. Governing bodies often come back to calendar questions as broadcasting deals, FIFA competitions and the club game change. What stands now is the current position, not a permanent settlement.

Where to look next

Anyone following this should start with Caf's own official communications. Executive committee decisions and tournament regulations set out the formal position on future editions, hosts and timing. FIFA's international match calendar and its regulations on the status and transfer of players explain the release obligations that link Afcon to club football.

For the Premier League side, the league's handbook and club statements about squad planning show how English clubs handle international absences. Reliable broadcast and print outlets such as the BBC, which reported this reversal, are the best way to follow any further detail on why Caf changed course and what it means for future editions.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Africa Cup of Nations still every two years?

Yes. According to the BBC, the Confederation of African Football has reversed its December decision to move the Africa Cup of Nations to a four-year cycle. The tournament therefore stays on its traditional two-year rhythm. The details of how future editions will be scheduled, and the full reasons behind the reversal, have not been set out in the reporting available here.

Why did Caf want Afcon every four years?

The general case for a four-year Afcon is that it would ease pressure on the football calendar and on players. It would also reduce clashes with European club seasons and could raise the tournament's prestige by making it rarer. Those are the long-standing arguments in the debate. The specific reasoning Caf gave in December, and how much each factor counted, is not covered in the material used for this article.

Why does Afcon matter to Premier League clubs?

Premier League clubs employ many African international players. FIFA's rules oblige clubs to release selected players for recognised final tournaments such as Afcon. When the finals fall in the northern winter, clubs lose those players in the middle of the season. A two-year cycle means that absence can come back every other season, which affects squad planning.

Can a Premier League club refuse to release a player for Afcon?

In general, no. Afcon is a final tournament on FIFA's international match calendar, and FIFA's regulations require clubs to release players called up for such competitions. Clubs can raise specific concerns through the proper channels, for example about a player's fitness, but they have no blanket right to keep a selected player back from his national team for the tournament.

Does the decision change when in the year Afcon is played?

Not necessarily. The reversal concerns the cycle, meaning how often the tournament is held, not the window in which it takes place. Afcon has been played at different times of year depending on host countries, climate and the wider calendar. Whether future editions fall in the northern winter or summer is a separate scheduling question that this decision does not settle.

Sources and further reading

• BBC Sport: reporting on Caf's reversal of the four-year Afcon decision
• Confederation of African Football: official communications and Afcon tournament regulations
• FIFA: international match calendar and regulations on the status and transfer of players
• Premier League: league handbook and guidance on squad registration