2021 Africa Cup of Nations: Cameroon announces change of dates

Teams across Europe will again face disruption in the middle of the season, with the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to take place in January.

Liverpool would likely be without Sadio Mane should Senegal qualify for the 2021 AFCON

CAF has decided to move the Africa Cup of Nations back to January for the 2021 edition of the tournament, which is to be held in Cameroon.

The 2019 tournament – hosted by Egypt and won by Algeria – was held in July, as CAF elected to move the tournament to fit in line with the northern hemisphere summer, meaning clubs in Europe's major leagues were unaffected.

However, sweltering conditions in Egypt led to the decision to switch to tournament to June and July being questioned.

 

Now, it has been confirmed by host Cameroon that the 2021 AFCON shall take place in January and February due to concerns over the weather should the tournament have taken place later in the year.

"The AFCON 2021 will be played in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6, 2021," a post on Cameroon's football federation's official Twitter account read.

"Dates [have been] changed for meteorological reasons at the request of Cameroon."

Cameroon was initially scheduled to host last year's tournament, but was stripped of it in November 2018 due to inadequate infrastructure.