By Piers Edwards

Khoza is chairman of the 2010 World Cup organising committee

South Africa, the 2010 World Cup hosts, are to ask the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to change the year in which the African Cup of Nations is held.

The continent's premier competition has been held in even-numbered years for nearly half a century but South Africa would like Caf to stage the competition in years ending in an odd number.

"We think it would be in Caf's interest to stage the Cup of Nations in a year that does not compete with the World Cup," Irvin Khoza, the vice-president of the South African Football Association (Safa), told BBC Sport.

"The Nations Cup must have its own status and its own character because if it is staged in the same year as the World Cup, like next year, it becomes a non-event."

A letter [outlining our proposal] will be sent to Caf prior to its next Executive Committee meeting Raymond Hack, Safa's CEO

"There will be too much [football on] television next year so it may be useful for the Nations Cup to be given its own separate status."

Safa intends to raise the issue with Caf ahead of the African ruling body's next Executive Committee meeting in June, which is to be held in the Swiss city Zurich.

"A letter [outlining our proposal] will be sent to Caf prior to the next Executive Committee meeting," said Raymond Hack, Safa's recently-appointed Chief Executive Officer.

"Safa is asking for the matter to be discussed and hoping that Caf will make a discussion on what to do with it once it receives the letter."

Safa does not intend to alter the date of the next edition of the Nations Cup, which is to be held in Egypt early next year, but hopes that a change may come around for the competition after.

SA to stage World Cup

And Hack insisted that the proposal for change has nothing to do with South Africa's hosting of the World Cup in 2010, an even-numbered year.

"We just think the Nations Cup and the World Cup should be held in different years," Hack told BBC Sport.

Khoza said the decision to request the change was taken at a meeting between Safa and officials from the country's Premier League, which Khoza chairs, two weeks ago.

The last Cup of Nations to be held in an odd year was the 1965 competition staged by Tunisia.

In a separate development, Khoza said his country's Premier Soccer League has decided to suspend competition from 22 December until 10 February, to accommodate the 2006 Cup of Nations finals in Egypt.

"We have players from all over Africa playing in our leagues, so it would be unfair for teams to continue with their league programme when their players have gone to the Nations Cup," said Khoza, who was attending a football business conference in London on Wednesday.