CAF confirmed on Thursday that the 2023 African Cup of Nations will run from January 13 until February 11 next year. This once again provides an issue for players in European leagues, whose club seasons will be disrupted by the tournament.
Initially planned to be hosted in the Ivory Coast over June and July this year during the preseason, the Confederation of African Football had to postpone the tournament due to weather conditions in the country at the time, with the January-February timeslot proving to be the most opportune time to play the tournament.
While CAF has resolved to organize the competition for the preseason going forward, doing this when the tournament is hosted by West African countries proves troublesome due to the heavy rains across the region throughout the winter period.
Returning to the shores of Ivory Coast for the first time since 1984, six countries aside from the hosts have already qualified for the competition. They are Algeria, Burkina Faso, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, and defending champions Senegal.
