CONSTANTLY shifting tournament dates, changing cycles and mishandling disciplinary crises create a perception of administrative chaos — a bracket the Confederation of African Football (CAF) simply cannot afford to be in.
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The recent dramatic flip-flop on the Afcon tournament cycle has highlighted critical structural and strategic flaws within Africa’s governing body.
Many were caught off guard when CAF originally announced plans in December to alter the Afcon schedule from a two-year to a four-year cycle in favour of a newly formed African Nations League.
This week, executives finally came to their senses, formally scrapping the quadrennial blueprint after concluding the proposed competition would require several years just to become financially viable.
Football analysts, marketing experts and member associations have pointed out harsh lessons from this ordeal.
CAF rushed to replace a proven revenue generator with a hypothetical league without securing broadcast rights, sponsorships or commercial backing beforehand.
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This is a clear sign of poor leadership. Furthermore, asking “What happened to the African Football League?” reveals yet another experiment gone wrong, leaving CAF with egg on its face.
While I applaud this recent U-turn, the initial move to a four-year cycle was widely perceived as a capitulation to European club interests and FIFA’s expanded club competitions.
Hopefully, CAF has learnt a valuable lesson from this episode and will emerge wiser for it. We all want to see African football succeed and improve.
Reversing an unpopular decision is not a sign of weakness; it is an admirable acknowledgement and rectification of a mistake.
Follow me on X @TimspiritMolobi
