Why is AFCON every two years? Reason for Africa Cup of Nations schedule explained

Unlike the European Championship, the Africa Cup of Nations is held every two years despite it being a continental tournament.

This year's event will get underway on January 13 and is being hosted in the Ivory Coast. The original plan was to have the event be played in June of 2023, but that was changed due to the West African nation's wet weather in the summer and early autumn.

It was feared that the rainy season could have caused problems for the integrity of the tournament and therefore the games have been moved to January and February of 2024. It will still be called the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, however, meaning the biennial scheduling of the AFCON is maintained.

But why is the competition held every two years and not every four, as is traditionally the case for the Euros, Copa America and AFC Asian Cup? The Sporting News takes a look. 

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The tournament stands out as the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) primary revenue generator, with Patrice Motsepe, the president of CAF, emphasising its crucial financial importance. Motsepe has previously expressed that the organisation "needs the money".

In 2020, FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggested the tournament be held quadrennially like the Euros. "I propose to organise the Africa Cup of Nations every four years rather than two years," he said. "The CAN [Africa Cup of Nations] generates 20 times less than the Euros. Having a CAN every two years, is that good at the commercial level? Has this developed the infrastructure? Think about spending it every four years.

Europe’s Top 5 are going to be without more than