The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is looming, which means we're approaching the time of the year when we hear European clubs moaning about losing their best players, but how is this still the case six decades into the tournament's inception?
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Shortly after the 2022/23 campaign began, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis made some extremely jarring statements regarding players from the world's second largest continent. The Italian executive claimed that he will no longer consider signing African players unless they renounce their participation in THE AFCON. While the 74-year-old was bold enough to come out and say that, the statement is certainly a bizarre one on a multitude of levels as it speaks to the entitlement that many European clubs have on players from the region.
Jurgen Klopp is another who landed himself in hot water after he verbalised his frustration at losing a couple of his contingent to the "little tournament" back in 2021. This sentiment is odd for many reasons, but none more so than the fact that AFCON is one of the oldest international competitions in the history of the beautiful game. It predates the UEFA European Championship and since 1965, apart from the 2019 edition, has been held between the months of January and March.
These managers and executives know that the players they want are African and so, biannually, will be bidding farewell to their club duties for potentially a month to go and represent their nations in one of the world's biggest football tournaments. However, every time it comes around, there is always a bunch of complaining that comes with it.
It is not only a Napoli or a Liverpool who are going to lose some of their stars, but clubs all over the world suffer as a result of certain players leaving for the AFCON, and while the absence of certain players may prove detrimental to their respective seasons, the blame should not be shifted to CAF for maintaining tradition. Rather, the clubs should be held accountable in recruiting in such a way whereby the temporary losses of the likes of Victor Osimhen and Mohamed Salah do not create for a massive drop-off in form.
Recently, LALIGA Africa MVP winner and Morocco international Yassine Bounou revealed that his potential move to Real Madrid in the latest transfer window fell through because of his likely participation at the competition in the Ivory Coast in January, which further adds to this sentiment of entitlement. Granted, Los Blancos are already without their first-choice goalkeeper in Thibaut Courtois and losing his replacement would've been bad, but the 32-year-old is among the best shotstoppers in the world and should not be a victim to things beyond his control.
Real decided against signing the ex-Wydad Athletic Club man, and they are well within their rights to make that decision, but clubs who already have top-class Africans at their disposal and then begin to complain are confusing. It's all good and well when said player helps you win the league, UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League, but God forbid he leave for a month to represent his country.
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Luckily for clubs in Europe, CAF has decided that the 2025 iteration of the showpiece will take place in the European off-season to better align their calendar, but that's an odd decision. There should never be a need to pander just because it doesn't suit certain organisations' agenda, especially when that is always how things have been.
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