The leadership of Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe is facing growing pressure, with football officials across the continent reportedly losing trust in him and potential challengers including former Cameroon striker Samuel Etoo positioning themselves to replace him.

The concerns intensified following his decision to reverse CAF plan to stage the Africa Cup of Nations every four years and return the tournament to a two year cycle.

According to a report by UK Guardian, the proposed return to a biennial AFCON cycle is expected to be confirmed at CAF executive committee meeting in Abidjan next month. The reversal came ten months after the decision was taken to hold the competition every four years.

The Guardian reported that most national association presidents were said to have been unaware that Motsepe intended to announce the proposed change until the issue was raised at a strategic conference in Cape Verde last week.

Etoo, who is currently president of Cameroon Football Federation and a member of CAF executive committee, is among those reportedly positioning themselves as potential successors to Motsepe.

Other potential contenders named in the report are Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania, Yacine Idriss Diallo of Cote d’Ivoire and Souleiman Waberi, a FIFA Council member from Djibouti.

The report said Motsepe potential rivals were believed to be seeking FIFA President Gianni Infantino approval should the South African billionaire be persuaded to leave office before the end of his term.

It added that another option would be to challenge Motsepe through CAF statutory mechanisms, under which an extraordinary general assembly can be convened following a written request from at least two thirds of the executive committee members.

Motsepe has also confirmed that he does not intend to seek a third term when his tenure expires in 2029.