It will still be in Côte d'Ivoire, but between January and February 2024 instead of June and July 2023. CAF announced this Sunday, July 3, the reorganization of the calendar of the next celebration of African football.
It's official. What was previously a strong possibility has become a reality. The president of CAF, Patrice Motsepe, announced on Sunday, July 3, the reorganization of the calendar of the AFCON 2023. Initially scheduled from June 23 to July 23, the competition is postponed between January and February 2023.
The African football boss made the announcement in Rabat, Morocco, at the end of a meeting of the Executive Committee of CAF. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Women's AFCON which is being hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco since Saturday 2 July.
Patrice Motsepe invoked the weather to justify this decision of CAF. The calendar initially retained, indeed, coincided with the celebration of African football with the rainy season in Côte d'Ivoire. "I am proud of the good work done by Côte d'Ivoire. The main problem here is basically the rain," said the South African leader in a press conference. This is the one and only reason why the CAF Executive Committee took the decision to move the AFCON to Côte d'Ivoire in January 2024."
Towards a postponement of the qualifications?
The revision of the AFCON calendar will make people happy. First, the host country. Even if Côte d'Ivoire was optimistic about the timely completion of the construction sites related to the holding of the tournament, it will not be spared six to seven months of respite.
Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana and Cameroon. They were involved in the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, which began between 1 and 13 June this year (days 1 and 2), and they feared they would lose a lot of strength before arriving in Qatar. Two more days are scheduled for September.
The Senegalese coach, Aliou Cissé, had solemnly requested a postponement of the qualifiers. Although nothing has been announced, his request should be granted.
Launch of the Super League
Apart from the postponement of the 2023 African Cup of Nations, Patrice Motsepe made two other important announcements in Rabat. He informed that the finals of the Champions League and the CAF Cup will return to a two-legged format.
Also, the South African announced the launch of the African Super League. The date is August 2023 and the prize pool is set at 100 million dollars.
