The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the continent's premier football tournament, has once again been shunted to the margins of the global sporting calendar. The 2025 edition, to be hosted by Morocco, will now kick off on 21 December, a compromise born from fixture congestion and a perceived lack of respect for African football from the game's governing bodies.
A Tournament in Perpetual Limbo
Scheduling has long been a weakness for the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Not since 2012 has an AFCON been held in the originally planned venue and timeframe. A series of disruptions—from civil wars and health crises to construction delays and weather miscalculations—have plagued recent tournaments. The 2025 edition was initially set for a European summer slot in June and July, a problematic policy for West African hosts. However, the creation of FIFA's expanded Club World Cup forced Africa to push its flagship event into the winter.
This move underscores a palpable disdain for African football at the highest levels. Despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino's rhetoric of solidarity with the continent, his actions tell a different story. The mandatory player release period for this AFCON has been slashed to just six days, with clubs encouraged to seek individual deals, a stark contrast to the standard 14-day rule.
Premier League Clubs Brace for Impact
As always, the tournament's timing will disrupt European leagues, particularly the Premier League. While the discussion in England often focuses solely on club losses, the broader narrative is about African football's struggle for a rightful place. Several Premier League sides will be affected, though not uniformly.
Arsenal and Chelsea will have no representatives at the tournament. Sunderland faces the most significant drain, potentially missing up to seven players, including key figures like Democratic Republic of Congo midfielder Noah Sadiki. Liverpool will be without Mohamed Salah, though his absence may be less keenly felt than in previous years. Manchester United will lose attackers Amad Diallo (Côte d'Ivoire) and Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), while West Ham must release both wing-backs: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DRC) and El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal).
The creativity of Everton's Iliman Ndiaye and Crystal Palace's Ismaïla Sarr (both Senegal) will be missed, as will Alex Iwobi's calm presence for Fulham (Nigeria). Some clubs, like Tottenham, Bournemouth, and Brighton, get a reprieve as Ghana and the Gambia failed to qualify, keeping Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, and Yankuba Minteh available.
A Fight for Relevance and Revenue
The core issue extends far beyond player availability. AFCON's biennial schedule, established in 1957, was born from necessity when Africa had no guaranteed World Cup place. It remains a vital revenue stream for CAF's 54 members. If European football, which benefits immensely from African talent, objects to the tournament's timing, it must propose viable alternatives to fund the development of the game across the continent.
The new December/January slot is a messy compromise. It is classified as a 2025 event to circumvent FIFA rules allowing clubs to block player release for more than one tournament per year, while also aligning with the winter break in many European leagues. Consequently, Boxing Day 2024 will feature AFCON group matches like Zambia vs Comoros and Egypt vs South Africa, rather than a full Premier League fixture list.
This situation is a stark illustration of how the relentless greed expanding the football fixture list is squeezing out historic competitions. For all of Infantino's talk, African football has been forced to scramble for a nook in the calendar, its premier event treated as an inconvenient afterthought rather than a celebration of a football-obsessed continent.
