Clubs across Europe will retain key African players for an additional week following FIFA’s decision to push back the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) release date to December 15. The adjustment, announced on Wednesday, means top performers such as Mohamed Salah, Bryan Mbeumo and Achraf Hakimi can feature for their clubs longer before reporting for international duty.
The 2025 AFCON, involving 24 nations and hosted in Morocco, runs from December 21 to January 18. Many clubs had been bracing for a heavier impact, with the original reporting deadline set for December 8, a date that threatened to leave teams without important players for up to eight Premier League fixtures during the season’s busiest period.
FIFA said the change followed “fruitful consultations” with stakeholders, adding that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) showed “a spirit of solidarity” in easing the burden on clubs. The governing body also encouraged national associations and clubs to hold bilateral discussions to manage individual player situations more smoothly.
The amended rule offers slight relief to sides like Liverpool, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, who will still lose Salah, Mbeumo and Hakimi respectively but for a shorter period. Other Premier League teams could feel the strain more acutely: Sunderland may be without as many as seven players during the tournament, while Wolverhampton Wanderers could lose five.
Liverpool will have to cope without Salah, while Manchester City will be missing Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush and Algeria’s Rayan Ait-Nouri. Manchester United likewise stand to lose Cameroon’s Mbeumo, Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo and Morocco’s Noussair Mazraoui. Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds, on the other hand, are unaffected by the tournament’s scheduling.
PSG will part with Hakimi, Africa’s reigning player of the year, although other major European sides including Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Juventus have no players involved in the competition. Bayern Munich’s Nicolas Jackson will join Senegal for AFCON but is expected to miss only a handful of games thanks to the Bundesliga’s winter break.
With powerhouses such as Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Senegal among the favourites, anticipation continues to build for Africa’s premier football event.
