Morocco Coach Halilhodzic Pushes for Premier League Stars at Africa Cup of Nations

English clubs do not want to let the Moroccan internationals respond to the call-up of the Moroccan national team to participate in the CAN, which is scheduled to take place from January 9 to February 6, 2022 in Cameroon. The reason given is the spread of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron.

For his part, national coach Vahid Halilhodzic is determined to have the Atlas Lions playing in the Premier League in the team he has assembled for the CAN. A source close to the coach told the daily Al Ahdath that players such as Adam Masina, Romain Saïss, Imran Louza and Ilyas Chair have been lined up for this competition. The complete list of the Atlas Lions for the next CAN should be unveiled in the coming days, adds the same source.

To read: Premier League Clubs Resist Early Release of African Players for AFCON 2022

Moreover, Vahid Halilhodzic fears a postponement or cancellation of the CAN due to the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant and the refusal of European clubs to release African players. "There is a big question, will it take place or not? For now, it’s a big battle between different lobbies. The players are forced to come to the national team, but all the clubs are doing everything to prevent the players from coming, some have threatened players, told them they could lose their place, be transferred," he added.