The next Africa Cup of Nations AFCON which was to be held the next year 2023 has been postponed until 2024. Many football fans have been asking the question of why the sudden change and why will not be played next year again. It was reported that the tournament will now be played in Ivory Coast in 2024. The information was made known by the president of CAF Patrice Motsepe.
AFCON 2023 Postponed to 2024
The AFCON tournament was to be hosted in June-July 2023, which is the height of the rainy season on the Ivory Coast. CAF president Patrice said: “We cannot take the risk,” the South African said in the Moroccan capital Rabat.” With the World Cup in Qatar taking place in November and December this year, the decision has been taken to postpone the finals rather than bring them forward.”
It means AFCON will be held in January and February for the second time in a row, after this year’s tournament in Cameroon.
In 2017, Caf announced that it would move the finals from their traditional January-February slot to June-July in a bid to avoid repeated disputes with European clubs forced to release players in the middle of the season.” “January is not the ideal time because of the European clubs, but it is the only choice we have,” Motsepe added.
The former CAF president Issa Hayatou, who was overthrown in 2017, they were no change concerning date no matter the countenance at hand. Yet just four months after taking charge, Hayatou’s successor – Ahmad of Madagascar – turned this policy on its head following consultation with the continent’s officials.
Caf Secretary-General Veron Mosengo-Omba said there are no plans to permanently move the finals back to January-February given the contrasting weather patterns across the continent at different times of the year. He was asked about it and said June and July are rainy seasons in the Ivory Coast ad the rain during that period used to be heavy. Patrice Motsepe failed to directly address the question – saying the choice had been made ‘out of courtesy’ with Ivorian organisers.
The tournament will feature 24 teams and carry total prize money of $100m, said Motsepe, adding that just over $10m will go to the winner. Citing ‘financial challenges’ in Caf which he inherited from Ahmad, whom he replaced last year, Motsepe said that businesses are interested in sponsoring the event. “The key issue for us is the abnormal interest we’ve been exposed to from some of the biggest and most prominent investors and sponsors,” he said.
