AFCON could be moved due to ´scheduling nightmare´, CAF general secretary reveals

The 2025 men’s Africa Cup of Nations could be put back six months after a “scheduling nightmare”, CAF general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba has confirmed.

The tournament, which was won by the Ivory Coast last February, was initially scheduled to take place in Morocco in June 2025.

However, this will clash with the expanded 32-team Club World Cup, held in the United States between June 15 and July 13, with four African teams invited to participate.

“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 told BBC Sport Africa.

“For this, we need to balance different aspects and also discuss with our partners and then we complete [the dates]. Scheduling is a nightmare for everybody.”

“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 [and then] to immediately come to play Afcon?”

The CAF general secretary also said there would soon be an update on when the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations would take place, with the forthcoming Olympic Games providing another potential clash.

“We are supposed to play this year, but we have teams engaged in the Olympics, so we have to find another date,” he added.

“We are talking with UEFA, because most of the players are playing in Europe, the European Club Association, and also with FIFA in order to find [a] suitable date.”