Afcon 2023: calendar, dates and draw for stars like Mohamed Salah and Andre Onana
The Côte d'Ivoire teams for the final stages have been confirmed but will be saved for the Coupe d'Afrique des Nations (Afcon) 2023 and comments concern the players and clubs of the Premier League and around the world?
For almost a month between January and February, some of football's biggest stars hope to win the biennial Confederation of African Football (Caf) tournament.
defending champions Senegal has plenty of firepower in Al Nassr striker Sadio Mané and Chelsea's new signing Nicolas Jackson, while Egypt - the most successful team in AFCON history with seven titles - are led by Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is scheduled to take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024, in Ivory Coast. Originally planned for June-July 2023, the tournament was moved due to concerns about the rainy season. The opening match will feature the host nation, Ivory Coast, and one of their Group A opponents. The tournament will feature 24 teams and will follow the typical knockout stage format after the group stage, with the final taking place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
Qualification for Afcon 2023 involved 24 nations, with Ivory Coast participating despite being hosts. Teams were divided into pots for the draw, which took place on October 12, 2023. The pots were determined based on the latest FIFA world rankings, and the teams were drawn into six groups of four. The specific locations for the group stage matches were yet to be confirmed.
Some notable teams, like Gabon, missed out on qualification, while others, like Zambia and Mozambique, returned after a hiatus from the tournament.
The tournament's timing will impact various club leagues. In La Liga, the winter break is from December 22 to January 1, with players potentially missing two to eleven matches, depending on their club's progress in other competitions. In Serie A, there is no winter break, and players could miss between two and eleven matches as well. Ligue 1 in France has a winter break from December 21 to January 13, with players possibly missing two to eight matches. The Bundesliga has a winter break from December 18 to January 11, with players possibly missing two to seven matches.
The Afcon draw featured past and present African football legends in attendance, adding to the excitement of the tournament.
Overall, Afcon 2023 promises to be an exciting event with top footballing nations and stars participating, but it will require careful scheduling for players involved in club competitions around the same time.
Here's everything you need to know about the schedule, including the draw and players' absence dates for domestic competitions.
When will CAN 2023 take place?
The 34th edition of CAN will take place from January 13th to February 11th, 2024. This is the second time that Ivory Coast has hosted the finals, having also hosted Africa in 1984.
Originally scheduled for June 2023, the tournament was postponed due to fears that it would take place during the rainy season.
Although now set in 2024, he has retained 2023 as part of his official title.
In the debut game, the hosts, the Elefanti, face one of the opponents from Group A with whom they were drawn.
The top two teams and the four best third-place teams from the first six groups advance to the round of 16, which consists of the quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place match and final.
The final will take place on February 11 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ivory Coast's capital, Abidjan.
What happened during qualifying? Following the expansion of the competition in 2019, 24 countries are taking part in the
Nations Cup for the third time.
Despite being the host, Ivory Coast still took part in the qualifiers and finished second in Group H behind Zambia. In addition to these two countries, there are 22 other teams that finished in the top two of the last two qualifying groups.
All participating teams have taken part in at least one of the last two tournaments, with the exception of Zambia, the 2012 champions, making their first appearance since 2015, and Mozambique, making their fifth and first appearance since 2010.
Central African Republic almost became the last nation to achieve their first success in the AFCON but was undefeated in the final game in Ghana despite remaining in the lead.
SECOND RUNNER – Nigeria (40), Cameroon (41), Mali (49), Burkina Faso (58), Ghana (60), DR Congo (64)
THIRD POINT – South Africa (65), Cape Verde (71), Guinea (81), Zambia (82), Equatorial Guinea (92), Mauritania (99)
POT QUATRE – Guinea-Bissau (106), Mozambique (113), Namibia (114), Angola (117), Gambia (118), Tanzania (122) Pierre-Emerick aubameyang's Gabon
was probably the most missed nation, having featured in three of the last four finals.
When does the CAN drawing take place and how does it work? The draw for the
th CAN will occur on October 12th at 7:00 p.m. GMT in Abidjan.
According to the latest FIFA world rankings, 24 teams have been divided into four baskets. Although Côte d'Ivoire is currently in ninth place in the scale of the best countries in Africa, it takes first place.
FIRST POINT – Ivory Coast (*50), Morocco (13), Senegal (20), Tunisia (29), Algeria (34), Egypt (35)
(*FIFA rankings in brackets)
teams will be divided into six groups of four teams each. Before the draw, the matches in each group are already assigned to a specific venue, but this information has yet to be confirmed.
Six stadiums are used in five cities:
Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan (capacity 60,000 seats)
Stadio Félix Houphouet Boigny, Abidjan (capacity 33,000)
Stade de la Paix, Bouaké (capacity 40,000)
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (capacity 20,000)
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (capacity 20,000)
Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro (capacity 20,000 seats) A quintessential star-studded event,
The Café always invites African football legends, past and present, to its raffles.
Expect the presence of Ivorian heroes such as Kolo and Yaya Touré, who both played when the Elephants beat Ghana to win their country their second Nations Cup title in 2015.
What happened during qualifying? Following the expansion of the competition in 2019, 24 countries are taking part in the
Nations Cup for the third time.
Despite being the host, Ivory Coast still took part in the qualifiers and finished second in Group H behind Zambia. These two countries were joined by 22 other teams that finished first in the final two qualifying groups.
All participating teams have taken part in at least one of the last two tournaments, with the exception of Zambia, the 2012 champions, making their first appearance since 2015, and Mozambique, making their fifth and first appearance since 2010.
The Central African Republic was almost the last country to achieve its first Afcon success, but lost in the final in Ghana and still retained its lead. Pierre-Emerick aubameyang's Gabon
was probably the most missed nation, having featured in three of the last four finals.
When does the CAN drawing take place and how does it work? The draw for the
th CAN will take place on October 12th at 7:00 p.m. GMT in Abidjan.
According to the latest FIFA world rankings, 24 teams have been divided into four baskets. Although Côte d'Ivoire is currently in ninth place in the ranking of the best countries in Africa, it takes first place.
FIRST POINT – Ivory Coast (*50), Morocco (13), Senegal (20), Tunisia (29), Algeria (34), Egypt (35)
SECOND POINT – Nigeria (40), Cameroon (41), Mali (49), Burkina Faso (58), Ghana (60), Democratic Republic of Congo (64)
THIRD POINT – South Africa (65), Cape Verde (71), Guinea (81), Zambia (82), Equatorial Guinea (92), Mauritania (99)
FOURTH PLACE – Guinea-Bissau (106), Mozambique (113), Namibia (114), Angola (117), Gambia (118), Tanzania (122)
(*FIFA rankings in brackets)
teams will be divided into six groups of four teams each. Before the draw, the matches in each group are already assigned to a specific venue, but this information has yet to be confirmed.
Six stadiums will be used in five cities:
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (capacity 60,000)
Stadio Félix Houphouet Boigny, Abidjan (capacity 33,000)
Stade de la Paix, Bouaké (capacity 40,000)
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (capacity 20,000)
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (capacity 20,000 seats)
Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro (capacity 20,000 seats) A quintessential star-studded event,
The Café always invites African football legends, past and present, to its raffles.
Expect the presence of Ivorian heroes such as Kolo and Yaya Touré, who both played when the Elephants beat Ghana to win their country their second Nations Cup title in 2015.
What about Saudi Arabia and the other leagues? Minimum number of lost games: none
Maximum number of games lost: three (semi-finals and finals of the Saudi Super Cup, first games of the Asian Champions League in the last 16 games). Due to the winter break, players will not miss any Pro League games
Possible return date: Saudi Super Cup matches in January (group stage exit), February 17 (round of 16 exit)
Spanish League
Winter holidays: December 22nd – January 1st
Possible club final: weekend of 6/7. January (1/1 Copa del Rey final)
Minimum number of games lost: two (La Liga)
Maximum number of games lost: eleven (five in La Liga, Copa del Rey round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-final first leg, Supercopa de Espana semi-finals and final, Supercopa de Espana round of 16 first leg). ). )
Possible return date: January 27 (group stage elimination), February 4 (round of 16), February 7 (quarter-finals), February 17 (semi-finals or finals)
Italian Serie A
Winter holidays: None
Possible club final: weekend of 6/7. January (Series A)
Minimum number of games lost: two (Series A)
Maximum number of games lost: Eleven (six Serie A games, semi-final and final of the Italian Super Cup, round of 16 and quarter of the Italian Cup, round of 16 of the Champions League)
Possible return date: January 27 (group stage exit), February 4 (round of 16), February 7 (quarter-finals), February 17 (semi-finals or finals)
French Ligue 1
Winter holidays: December 21st - January 13th
Possible club final: weekend of 6/7. January (last 32 Coupe de France games)
Minimum number of games lost: two (Ligue 1)
Maximum number of games missed: eight (five Ligue 1 games, last 32 and last 16 Coupe de France games, first 16 Champions League games)
Possible return date: January 27 (group stage elimination), February 4 (round of 16), February 7 (quarter-finals), February 16 (semi-finals or finals)
German Bundesliga
Winter holidays: December 18th – January 11th
Possible club final: weekend 16/17. December (Bundesliga)
Minimum number of games lost: two (Bundesliga)
Maximum number of games missed: seven (five Bundesliga games, DFB Cup quarter-finals, first Champions League games in the last 16 games)
Possible return date: January 27 (group stage elimination), February 4 (round of 16), February 7 (quarter-finals), February 16 (semi-finals or finals)