the African Confederation votes unanimously in favor of a World Cup every two years

Three rooms, two atmospheres. Two months after the European and South American authorities announced their opposition to the World Cup project every two years, African football has spoken out in turn. And the decision is quite different, since the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Friday, November 26th supported the “decision of the Fifa Congress to conduct a feasibility study“for a biennial World Cup, instead of the usual quadrennial rhythm.

CAF is thus the first confederation to officially and publicly approve the controversial project of a World Cup every two years, at the same pace as its African Cup of Nations. Meeting in an Extraordinary General Assembly at its headquarters in Cairo, CAF also voted in favor of a Super League of African clubs for which it has so far given neither composition nor calendar.

These unanimous show of hands come less than a month before a virtual summit convened by Fifa, the governing body of world football, to discuss on December 20 (without a vote) this proposal for a biennial World Cup, which encountered a great many reluctance, mainly in Europe.

UEFA, the South American Football Confederation, the World Leagues Forum and the powerful European Club Association have launched their battle to avoid overloading an already extremely dense schedule. But the head of the body, Gianni Infantino, who dreams of launching his biennial World Cup from the 2028 edition, can count on the support of less dominant confederations in global football.

On paper, the project promises to distribute more income to federations, a particularly attractive argument for African or Asian authorities, more dependent on this windfall than prosperous European football.