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

10 November 2021 – byGinette · 1 min read

A few weeks before the holding of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, European clubs, especially English ones, are reluctant to release African internationals, including Moroccan players. Yet FIFA has required that African players playing in various championships be made available to their respective countries no later than December 27, but English clubs only plan to do so after Boxing Day.

English clubs want to provoke a tug-of-war between them, FIFA, CAF and the African football federations again. They want their African players to remain in England to take part in the English championship matches that take place during the New Year holidays, reports the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia.

This scenario is known and creates huge difficulties for African teams. But the Confederation of African Football (CAF) does not agree and is counting on FIFA to put pressure on the Premier League clubs.

This obstinacy of the English clubs is a blow to the Moroccan coach who was already having a hard time digesting the muscle tear of Youssef En-Nesyri. To avoid any Covid-19 contamination of these players, Vahid Halilhodzic, has refused to organize a training camp for the CAN abroad. He plans to do it in Morocco, more precisely in Agadir and has even scheduled a friendly match on December 31 on the pitch of the Adrar stadium in the same city.

Category: Sport

Keywords:

Africa Cup of Nations Great Britain FIFA Atlas Lions Confederation of African Football