CAIRO (AP) — The Africa Cup of Nations will continue every two years after the Confederation of African Football announced on Friday it voted unanimously to revoke the decision to move the tournament to a four-year cycle.
CAF announced last December that the Africa Cup would be held every four years, starting from 2028, allowing a proposed new competition — the African Nations League — to take place for the first time in 2029.
The decision at the time, bringing the competition to a schedule that aligned with FIFA’s international calendar, rankled many at the Africa Cup in Morocco, with some saying it was made with European wishes at heart to the detriment of African interests.
CAF said in October that it was reconsidering the matter.
“The decision by the CAF EXCO that the CAF AFCON should take place every two years was based on advancing, protecting and promoting the interest of African football and CAF’s 54 member associations, as well as the interest of African players employed by football clubs outside Africa,” CAF President Patrice Motsepe said in a statement.
“We were also concerned by the several years required before the proposed new Africa Nations League Pan-African competition could make the substantial financial and football development contributions for African football and CAF competitions to be globally competitive and self-supporting.”
The next Africa Cup will go ahead as planned in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda next year, with the subsequent tournaments taking place in 2028, 2031 and 2033.
“The forthcoming FIFA World Cup will take place in 2030 and in accordance with the FIFA tradition, the final tournament of the AFCON and other confederation's national teams competitions may not take place during the year of the FIFA World Cup,” Motsepe said.
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FILE - CAF President Patrice Motsepe and FIFA President Gianni Infantino wave from the tribune during the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 soccer match between South Africa and Cameroon in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has become the first pope to vote in a U.S. general election.
The Vatican confirmed Friday that the Chicago-born pontiff had submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago ahead of November’s midterm elections, citing his long-standing belief in civic participation.
Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen” and has done so “whenever he was eligible to do so,” the Holy See press office said.
The statement said he had also voted while living in Peru whenever he was eligible.
“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” it added.
Leo’s vote was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, which quoted the chief of staff at the Will County clerk’s office as saying the pope, registered at a New Lenox address, requested a mail-in ballot on Oct. 3.
It is unclear how Leo returned the ballot. His brother, John Prevost, was in Rome this week accompanying parishioners from St. Jude’s, an Augustinian-run parish in New Lenox, Illinois. The elder Prevost attends Mass there, and Leo gave a talk at the parish in 2024 while still a cardinal.
Since 2000, Robert Prevost has voted in five primary elections, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times, according to records held by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
The records do not show which candidates he supported. Illinois voters must declare a party preference to receive a ballot in a primary, when parties choose their nominees for the general election. No such declaration is required in general elections.
While registered in heavily Democratic Cook County, Prevost requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010. After moving to the more conservative suburban Will County, he requested Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
The records also show that he submitted ballots in every general election since 2000 except those in 2020 and 2022.
Pope Leo XIV arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
