AFCON Schedule Shift Clashes with Club Commitments, Highlighting Calendar Crisis
The upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been officially postponed from its traditional June-July slot, marking the second consecutive edition to be moved and triggering significant disruption for European football clubs.
The tournament, scheduled for 2025 in Morocco, will now be held later in the year. The primary reason for the shift is a direct scheduling conflict with FIFA’s newly expanded Club World Cup, which is set to occupy the summer of 2025. This follows a similar disruption for the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast, which was moved to January-February 2024 to avoid the West African monsoon season.
The rescheduling means European clubs will again be compelled to release their African stars for a major international tournament in the middle of the domestic season. Key players such as Egypt’s Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain) are among those expected to be absent from their clubs for up to a month during the critical winter period.
A FIFA spokesperson confirmed the calendar adjustment was “a necessary step to ensure the global football calendar is workable for all stakeholders,” though the decision has been met with frustration by many top European clubs. The clash underscores the growing tension between the crowded international football schedule and club commitments.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has yet to announce exact dates for the rescheduled tournament, but it is expected to take place in late 2025. The repeated moving of AFCON highlights the ongoing challenges of integrating FIFA’s new competitions into the global football calendar, often at the expense of established continental events and the clubs that pay players’ salaries.
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