Organizers of Africa’s top men’s and women’s international football tournaments acknowledge they are encountering a “scheduling nightmare.” However, the BBC has learned that dates for upcoming editions are nearing agreement.
In a rare in-depth interview, Veron Mosengo-Omba, the general secretary of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), assured that an announcement regarding the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco would be made by the end of this month. He revealed that there is a significant possibility it could be postponed to next year.
“We are supposed to play this year but we have teams engaged in the Olympics, so we have to find another date,” Mosengo-Omba explained to BBC Sport Africa.
“We are talking with Uefa, because most of the players are playing in Europe, the European Club Association and also with Fifa in order to find [a] suitable date.”
Meanwhile, Mosengo-Omba confirmed that Caf could stage the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), also set to be hosted by Morocco, in early 2026 because of the timing of Fifa’s new 32-team Club World Cup in June and July next year.
“For the men, we need to make sure that the dates that we’ll be choosing will be in the interests of the players,” said the Swiss-Congolese, highlighting issues around the workload of the continent’s elite players.
“For this we need to balance different aspects and also discuss with our partners and then we complete [the dates]. Scheduling is a nightmare for everybody.”
Big dilemma for Women’s Nations Cup
According to CAF’s statutes, both editions of the Nations Cup are meant to be held once every two years, unlike most major championships organized by other confederations, which occur once every four years. However, this places pressure on the African game’s governing body to fit its competitions into an increasingly crowded international calendar.
Qualifying for the 2024 WAFCON concluded last December. However, determining the timing of the 12-team finals is complicated by the fact that record nine-time winners Nigeria and Zambia will be participating in the Paris Olympics during July and August.
Desiree Ellis, coach of reigning continental champions South Africa, acknowledges that the crowded schedule reflects the rapid growth of the women’s game. However, she remains critical of CAF’s handling of the situation.
“If it (Wafcon) is postponed or cancelled, it will be a huge, huge disappointment,” the 61-year-old told BBC Sport Africa, pointing out that the 2020 Nations Cup was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, unlike the men’s 2021 tournament which was merely postponed.
“The growth of women’s football over the last couple of years has really shot through the roof, especially on the African continent.
“Just communicate whether it’s happening or whether it’s not happening so we know how to prepare going forward.”
The growth of women’s football in Africa has been highlighted this year by two record-breaking transfer fees paid for Zambian players.
In February, forward Rachel Kundananji set a new world record by joining American team Bay FC for $860,000 (£685,000), followed by Copper Queens skipper Barbra Banda moving to fellow National Women’s Soccer League side Orlando Pride for $740,000 (£581,000) the next month.
Mosengo-Omba explains that CAF’s only option for scheduling WAFCON this year would involve holding it outside of an agreed international window, meaning club sides would not be obliged to release their star players.
“Do we play Women’s Afcon without our best players? This is something that personally I think is not good,” he said.
“We cannot come back by using only local (domestic-based) players. They are good, but the standard would not be the same.”
The alternative is a postponement until 2025.
Player welfare a factor in 2025 Afcon timing
When considering the men’s Nations Cup, Caf’s “nightmare” has been triggered by the global governing body FIFA’s introduction of its expanded Club World Cup.
The 32-team tournament is scheduled to take place in the United States from June 15 to July 13 next year – dates that could have been reserved for the 2025 Afcon. Caf had previously expressed its intention to synchronize its flagship competition with the European summer window.
“We have a problem that we’re still discussing now with the same stakeholders and partners: the European Club Association, Uefa and Fifa,” said Mosengo-Omba.
He denied that Fifa has pressured Caf not to hold Afcon at the same time as the Club World Cup – something that Concacaf, the continental confederation for North and Central America, has decided to do with its Gold Cup competition.
Fifa has been forced to defend its new addition to the football calendar after criticism from unions that players are being “pushed beyond their limits”.
“We can play after the Club World Cup, but is this good for the interests of the players who have played all the season and then they travel to America to play [and then] immediately come to play Afcon?” Mosengo-Omba continued.
“We have to put this in balance before [we] take a decision.”
Despite concerns regarding heat, the 2019 Nations Cup in Egypt took place in June and July of that year. The 2021 and 2023 editions were also scheduled around the same time to avoid the traditional clash between club commitments and national team duty, which occurs during the tournament’s usual January-February slot.
However, the 2021 tournament in Cameroon was postponed to early 2022 due to the pandemic and weather-related issues. Similarly, the 2023 tournament was held in Ivory Coast earlier this year to avoid the rainy season in West Africa.
Although CAF did not succeed in aligning the past two tournaments with the European football calendar, Mosengo-Omba acknowledges that a similar scenario could unfold in Morocco.
“If this is for the interests of the player, why not? Because we have to focus in terms of the player,” he said.
Meanwhile, the date for the qualifying draw for the 2025 Afcon is set to be announced after the next meeting of Caf’s executive committee.
Qualifiers are expected to be held in September, October and November this year.