"Football is akin to a religion among Africa's largely young population, with 60% of its 1.5 billion people under the age of 25. But the timing of this Afcon, to be played over the Christmas and New Year period in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier and Fez, has never happened since the tournament began in 1957, igniting a storm of anger throughout the African football community."
"There is a serious lack of respect that is being shown to the Afcon. In a meeting that the technical staff of all the qualified teams had with Caf, we asked them when our players, most of whom are in European clubs, will be released, for us to begin our preparations. Caf was not able to give us a clear answer."
"The unspoken reason for that related to discussions between Fifa and European clubs, which resulted in Fifa stating on 3 December, taking a cue from the Qatar 2022 World Cup, that 15 December was the release date. Fifa's notice said the Caf executive committee had agreed to stage the Afcon from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026, to avoid any conflicts with the Uefa Champions League and the Uefa Europa League."
Morocco hosts the Africa Cup of Nations with the opener against Comoros in Rabat and matches across Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier and Fez. The tournament is scheduled over the Christmas and New Year period, a timing that has not occurred since 1957 and has provoked anger across the continent. Coaches criticized Caf and Fifa for shortening pre-tournament preparation from two weeks to under seven days and for setting a 15 December player release date. Fifa said the dates (21 December 2025–18 January 2026) were chosen to avoid clashes with Uefa club competitions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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