The Confederation of African (CAF) has approved recommendations to expand the African Cup of Nations from 16-24 teams.

The recommendations were discussed at the CAF Symposium that took place this week and have now been approved by the CAF executive committee.

The CAF Executive Committee has passed a resolution to increase the AFCON participating teams from 16 to 24 starting from 2019. #SSFootball

— Usher Komugisha (@UsherKomugisha) July 20, 2017

The changes will take effect from the 2019 tournament that is set to be hosted by Cameroon.

CAF also confirmed that the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in June and July.

AFCON usually takes place during the months of January and February, which often sees clubs releasing their players during the season.

However other proposals like having AFCON played outside Africa were rejected.

AFCON will NOT be held outside Africa . CAF say tourney will “exclusively be held on African soil with African national teams.”

A statement from CAF reads:

“The CAF Executive Committee, at its meeting on Thursday, 20 July 2017, in Rabat, Morocco, reviewed the resolutions of the various working groups of the 1st CAF African Football Symposium held from 18 -19 July 2017 at the Palais des Congrès in Skhirat, near Rabat.

The Committee advocated the establishment of a working group to work on the implementation of the resolutions and propose short, medium and long term implementation timetables. However, a consensus emerged on a number of issues raised by the working groups:

Working group 1: AFCON – Competition and specifications
Increasing the Africa Cup of Nations to 24 teams as of the 2019 edition, and the tournament will now be held in the months of June and July. The competition will however remain a biennial event (every two years), odd years and exclusively held on African soil with African national teams.

Working group 2: Inter-club competitions
It was agreed by the Committee to maintain the current format, but to proceed in the future to a change in timing for interclub competitions which are expected to start from August to May.

Working group 3: Football development (Coaching, Refereeing, Medical)
The principle of increasing the indemnities of referees was approved.
The Committee expressed its determination to explore all scientific and medical solutions that could eradicate the phenomenon of age cheating, likewise a research that can help to determine the causes of sudden death among footballers, of which majority of the victims are of African origin.

Working group 4: Youth Football
The Committee decided to organize zonal qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations for the youth categories (U-17, U-20, U-23), with the flexibility offered to each zone to propose a formula. The committee also resolved to strengthen medical checks in determining the eligibility of players.

Working group 5: International Partnerships
The Committee recognizes the urgent need for improved relations between CAF, its member associations, Governments and the African Union.

Working group 6: Communication and Media
The Executive Committee was clearly in support of suggestions made for the improvement of CAF’s communication tools on the digital platforms and social media, in particular the creation of a website in line with the standards of CAF. The Committee committed itself, with a view to strengthening the specifications of the competitions, taking into account the expectations of the media.

Working group 8: Football players, Roles and Perspectives
The Committee endorsed the principle of creating a framework for cooperation with legendary African footballers and their greater involvement in CAF activities.

II – Competitions
Total CHAN Kenya 2018
A new inspection visit will be conducted at the end of August 2017 to assess progress following the June 2017 mission.

Total AFCON Cameroon 2019
Inspection will be conducted in early September.

Total U-23 AFCON
Zambia formally withdrew from the hosting of the 2019 edition. The committee called for the opening of bids for the selection of a new host country.

Beach-Soccer AFCON
The Committee decided to grant the 2018 edition to Egypt, the only country which expressed interest in the organization at the end of the deadline for the call for applications.

Interclub Competitions
The Committee noted the lifting of the suspension of Sudan by FIFA and indicated that the Sudanese clubs engaged in the Total CAF Champions League and Total CAF Confederation Cup are not disqualified, but in accordance with the regulations, are declared losers of the Day Six matches of the group stage.

As a result, Sudanese club, Hilal El Obeid is qualified for the quarterfinals of the Total CAF Confederation Cup.”