The Africa Cup of Nations are set to be expanded to 24 are set to be expanded to 24 teams after CAF approved expansion from 16 teams on Thursday.
The 2019 edition, which will be hosted in Cameroon, will be the first to feature more than 16 teams since 1996 and after CAF’s decision, Cameroon might lose out in hosting the tournament as their preparations are behind schedule.
One of many recommendations was to have three or four guest teams from other continents just like the CONCACAF Gold Cup and their is a possibility to host the 2023 edition of the tournament by countries outside Africa like China, USA or Qatar, but CAF have officially confirmed that the tournament will only be played with African nations on African soil.
The Africa Cup of Nations will also be moved from June and July, after the agreement to the CAF Executive Committee’s proposal, as the current timing of the tournament angered the European clubs, who have African players that leave in mid season to represent their countries in the tournament, but there is no official confirmation yet.
These are two of the many major changes expected to take place in the continent’s football, according to CAF’s newly elected president Ahmad Ahmad.