FIFA’s scheduling of the Club World Cup, a new version with a number of participants increased to 32, and which will be played from June 15 to July 13 in the United States, forced the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide, at its Executive Committee meeting held on June 21, that the final phase of the CAN Morocco 2025 would take place between December 21, 2025 and January 18, 2026. “We had understood that the CAN would not take place in June-July 2025. We were rather expecting January and February 2026. This is a bit surprising, because it is the first time that it will be played on such dates. We would have liked it to be played in June-July, because at this time of year, the weather is nice, there is a more festive side and many tourists, but FIFA has imposed its calendar, and we have to deal with it,” Moroccan journalist Nassim El Kerf told Young Africa.
To read: CAN 2025 in Morocco: the party spoiled by FIFA?
CAF also had to take into account UEFA’s change in the format of its competitions (the Champions League and the Europa League) to retain these dates. Two days of the league phase are scheduled between January 20 and 31, 2026. But these new dates, the new version of the Club World Cup, will have an impact not only on European clubs but also on players. “We ask a lot of footballers,” emphasizes Belgian Paul Put, coach of Uganda, several of whose players play in Europe. “Playing an AFCON at this time of year will deprive them of a winter break.” Olivier Dall’Oglio, coach of AS Saint-Étienne (Ligue 1), shares this opinion. He who is “used to giving internationals returning from the AFCON a two-week break” will have a hard time doing so if things remain as they are. According to him, it is important “that they can recover from the competition, the travel and the change of continent.”
Read: Morocco: standoff with FIFA over the date of CAN 2025
“The ideal would be a CAN in June and July,” said Nabil Neghiz, Algeria’s assistant coach. After the end of the championships, players can rest for a few days before preparing for the final phase. With a CAN which will begin on December 21, they will continue with a big competition, without interruption and without real preparation. To support his argument, he cites the case of several players including Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi. He will play with Paris-SG the Club World Cup, the CAN with the Atlas Lions – automatically qualified –, and probably the 2026 World Cup, in addition to the Ligue 1 championship, the Coupe de France and a European Cup, in the space of a year. “International competitions are very physically and mentally demanding for the players. The more they play, the greater the risk of injury,” adds Neghiz.
