CAF President Patrice Motsepe has promised the 2027 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) will go on as planned in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Motsepe on Sunday gave the promise at a press conference in Cairo that followed a CAF Executive Committee meeting.
“We have to stop this nonsense of African fixtures not being consistent, predictable, and reliable. It is very important. At this stage, I am very clear in my mind that we have to develop football in East Africa, which has enormous potential. My message is clear, Afcon is going to be enormously successful,” Motsepe said while responding to a question about whether CAF will withdraw hosting rights from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda due to increasing doubts over their readiness to stage the competition next year.
At the same time, CAF’s general secretary Veron Mossengo-Omba resigned on Sunday after repeated calls for his removal and at a turbulent time for the game on the continent. Mossengo-Omba said he was retiring, but his departure comes amid a crisis of confidence in the organisation’s leadership, with a growing fallout over the decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Afcon title and calls for an investigation into alleged corruption at African football’s governing body.
Confederation of African Football general secretary Veron Mossengo-Omba. He resigned on March 29, 2026.
Photo credit: CAF
Earlier on Sunday, Motsepe had confirmed that he will make an impromptu visit to Kenya on May 11 and 12 when the country will host the Africa-France Summit.
“I will visit Kenya in May when there will be a meeting of heads of state. I was not initially going to visit Kenya then, but some of the heads of state have insisted I visit since they are things they want me to do while there. I will also use the visit to inspect the stadiums and infrastructure in Kenya for Afcon 2027,” the South African said.
Motsepe also used the press conference to address various issues which have had the spotlight shining on CAF in recent months.
Top among them was the decision of the CAF Appeal Board to overturn the result of the 2025 Afcon final, stripping Senegal of their 1-0 victory over Morocco. Morocco was awarded a 3-0 forfeit victory, making them the 2025 Afcon champions.
Motsepe said he “respected” the decision of the CAF Appeal Board, which he labelled “independent”.
Further, to avoid a repeat of the incidences which marred the Afcon 2025 final, Motsepe announced that CAF will be “implementing changes and improvements to the CAF Statutes and Regulations that will strengthen the trust and confidence in the CAF Referees, VAR Operators and Judicial Bodies.”
“CAF has taken extensive legal advice from top African and international Football lawyers and experts, to ensure that the CAF Statutes and Regulations adhere to and implement global Football best practices, on and off the field,” Motsepe further stated, without elaborating on the exact changes that CAF will make.
Senegal has since appealed the decision of the CAF Appeal Board to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), whose decision Motsepe said CAF “will respect and implement”.
Perhaps in a move to pacify hostilities between Senegal and CAF, as well as Morocco, Motsepe said he will visit the two countries to meet with their football and government leadership to “affirm CAF’s commitment to the development of football in Morocco and Senegal”.
That controversial Afcon 2025 final, hosted by Morocco, was followed by the North African nation's withdrawal from hosting the 2026 Women’s African Cup of Nations (Wafcon).
Harambee Starlets, and 15 other teams, were scheduled to compete in the tournament from March 17 March to April 3, 2026. However, on March 5, CAF announced the tournament was postponed from July 25 to August 16, 2026, with Morocco remaining as hosts.
On Sunday, Motsepe confirmed the tournament will go on as planned as CAF works on increasing the prize money of its women’s competitions to “make them more attractive, appealing, and globally competitive.”
Wafcon 2026 will feature 16 teams for the first time in its history, following an expansion from 12 teams.
On a similar note, Motsepe used the occasion to announce that Afcon will expand from 24 to 28 teams once it adjusts to a quadrennial tournament after Afcon 2028.
To fill the four-year gap between two Afcons, Motsepe announced that CAF will introduce two competitions – the Africa Nations League Continental and Africa Nations League Pan-African.
“The African Nations League Continental will take the format of regional, or zonal, competitions, after which the finalists will meet in a final tournament in one country. The Africa Nations League Pan-African will be identical to the current Afcon, featuring 24 teams,” Motsepe said before adding that the new tournaments will ensure that Africa hosts world-class national team competitions every year.
Additionally, Motsepe also announced the return of the Africa Football League, which was abolished in 2024, a year after Mamelodi Sundowns won the inaugural edition in 2023.
“The Africa Football League will continue later in the year,” Motsepe said of the competition, which had been hyped as a money-spinner for African clubs before its abolition.
Motsepe made those remarks flanked by the Nigerian Samson Adamu, CAF’s director of competitions, who is now the organisation’s new interim secretary general following the resignation of the Congolese-Swiss Veron Mosengo-Omba.
In a statement he shared on X, Mosengo-Omba said he stepped down from his position to devote himself to more personal projects.
In his statement, Mosengo-Omba also fired at critics who have been pressuring him to resign over alleged unethical conduct.
“Now that I have been able to dispel the suspicions that some people have gone to great lengths to cast on me, I can retire with peace of mind and without constraint, leaving the CAF more prosperous than ever,” Mosengo-Omba stated.
