The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has admitted to facing a “scheduling nightmare” ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
AFCON 2025 was originally scheduled to take place in the North African country in June and July of next year, but now faces the possibility of being postponed, with the tournament’s date set to clash with other FIFA-sanctioned international competitions.
Morocco won the bid to host the next AFCON after Guinea were stripped of the hosting rights following inadequate preparations. The date for the tournament's commencement has, however, remained uncertain after it became apparent that the AFCON could coincide with other competitions.
The continent’s football governing body is yet to confirm whether the tournament will stick to its original dates of June and July 2025, especially with FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup also set to take place within the same period.
CAF sweating on AFCON 2025 date
Reports of a possible postponement have been rife in recent months and CAF’s General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba, has now admitted that the football governing body is currently facing a scheduling nightmare.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Mosengo-Omba suggested it would not be in the best interest of players to play in the AFCON immediately after the FIFA Club World Cup, but said all options would be considered before a final decision is made on the date.
“For the men, we need to make sure that the dates that we'll be choosing will be in the interests of the players,” Mosengo-Omba stated.
“We can play after the Club World Cup, but is this good for the interests of the players who have played all the season and then they travel to America to play [and then] immediately come to play AFCON? We have to put this in balance before [we] take a decision.”
The CAF General Secretary further revealed that the football governing body was in talks with FIFA and other stakeholders to find a common ground. Meanwhile, FIFA has come under pressure over its additional football calendar, with player unions describing the current situation as one where footballers were being “pushed beyond their limits.”
