Topic: African Cup of Nations (AFCON)

[Rush 82]

As a born and bred resident of Africa, my view is that it's a shite tournament that should be reduced to a four year cycle.

It's played in crap stadiums, with poor officiating, overseen by poor administration, and has the added disincentive of a constant threat of the matches being disrupted due to misbehavior between rival fans.

The games are generally poorly attended and attract very little sponsorship due to the aforementioned poor administration, abysmal facilities and low quality footy on display.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

I'm all for it being played, we have the Euros, the Asian, COPA America etc but yeah don't understand why it isn't on a four year cycle? (In fact is the COPA?)

The other issue I don't understand, why isn't it played during the off season? Is it weather related or due to the domestic league setup in Africa?

[Rush 82]

I'm all for it being played, we have the Euros, the Asian, COPA America etc but yeah don't understand why it isn't on a four year cycle? (In fact is the COPA?)

The other issue I don't understand, why isn't it played during the off season? Is it weather related or due to the domestic league setup in Africa?

Domestic League is such a grand word to use for club football in Africa (ok, I admit I'm biased 'cos club football is so shite in South Africa that it's barely worth following).

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Domestic League is such a grand word to use for club football in Africa (ok, I admit I'm biased 'cos club football is so shite in South Africa that it's barely worth following).

I'll freely admit I have no idea how football works in Africa. I know South Africa and Egypt have leagues running, and would assume there are at least some kind of leagues running for the other countries?

[Redman0151]

No idea why it's every 2 years to be honest, seems crazy

[OsirisMVZ]

I'm all for it being played, we have the Euros, the Asian, COPA America etc but yeah don't understand why it isn't on a four year cycle? (In fact is the COPA?)

Yes the Copa America is on a 4 year cycle too. There was a tournament this year which was a 100th anniversary one-off.

I don't think the AFCON is a good indicator of quality. Seems Egypt win it every other year yet they barely qualify for the World Cups.

[the_red_pill]

I'll freely admit I have no idea how football works in Africa. I know South Africa and Egypt have leagues running, and would assume there are at least some kind of leagues running for the other countries?

There are of course. Thing is, "Leagues" are badly run, badly sponsored and attended. I do believe though that these are teething issues.
These challenges need to be there so they can be overcome and it's getting better - although it takes a looong time usually.

I do admit though- the AFCON is really the odd one out. Heat and humidity is a factor in Africa throughout the year so I don't think it's because of that. If that were the case, the COPA would've also been scheduled that way.

[Original]

Hilariously bad, which is strange because there are obviously loads of talented players involved, I guess the pitches are a bit of a leveller

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Could FIFA implement a standard calendar? I.e. Major international competitions are played through the summer?

[joeey10]

Could FIFA implement a standard calendar? I.e. Major international competitions are played through the summer?

Whose summer? You do realize that January is the height of summer in the southern hemisphere?

[JLStretton]

On a pure selfish level it's a bag of wank when we lose players of the calibre of Sadio.

[Doc Red]

Hilariously bad, which is strange because there are obviously loads of talented players involved, I guess the pitches are a bit of a leveller

I think the fact that they have talent and get a chance to show it might be a reason why they do it so often.  There's a lot of talent in Africa, it's the funds, organisation,  and exposure that many countries seem to lack. An event every two years gives the chance for talented players to showcase their skills. The frequency gives more chances for nations to get an opportunity to get onto the big stage, and players to try to be involved.  With so many countries in Africa, and due to the infrastructure a limited quota for teams to be involved,  having it every two years means teams that fail to make it can regroup and sart focusing on the next tournament within months.

On a side note, this also probably keeps the respective FAs consistently focusing on goals that are right around the corner, rather then 4 years away.

[redbyrdz]

I think the fact that they have talent and get a chance to show it might be a reason why they do it so often.  There's a lot of talent in Africa, it's the funds, organisation,  and exposure that many countries seem to lack. An event every two years gives the chance for talented players to showcase their skills. The frequency gives more chances for nations to get an opportunity to get onto the big stage, and players to try to be involved.  With so many countries in Africa, and due to the infrastructure a limited quota for teams to be involved,  having it every two years means teams that fail to make it can regroup and sart focusing on the next tournament within months.

On a side note, this also probably keeps the respective FAs consistently focusing on goals that are right around the corner, rather then 4 years away.

If its to showcase players, wouldn't some sort of u-23 tournament be better? They could even alternate a junior AFCON with a full senior one, so the senior one would only be every four years.

Or have an African CL.

[Doc Red]

The AFCON is not solely to showcase players, though that is a major side bonus.
As I mentioned, having a senior national side compete every two years gives possibilities for countries to attempt to get in and a more frequent rate, especially considering the vast number of countries in Africa. If there were only 10 countries, I'm sure it would be more feasible to have it every 4 years as they're all guaranteed to make it. Right now, only 16 teams can qualify out of 54 total nations.

Additionally, the football infrastracture in Africa is not in par with, say Europe. An u23 tournament would be extra hassle, without the prestige. People remember the winners of the European Cup, AFCON, and COPA over the past few tournaments, how many remember the u23 winners?

I think eventually, they will shift towards a tournament every 4 years, but probably when the infrastracture is there to enable more than 16 teams to qualify , and host nations that can manage that. In the meantime, European clubs will have to make due with their African players missing 3-4 matches every two years (and only if their nation qualifies).

It is interesting that the AFCON is now an issue for us, simple because of Mane. We're in a thread discussing the virtues of an AFCON every two, versus four, years or even if it's shite, simply because Mane may miss a few games? It seems the world really does revolve around us in Europe.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Whose summer? You do realize that January is the height of summer in the southern hemisphere?

To be fair I was totally oblivious to that fact 

I'd say as the majority of major tournaments are played in NORTHERN hemisphere summer (World Cup, Euros, COPA America, Gold Cup, Olympics) then we go for a June based schedule.

[ArthurDent]

To be fair I was totally oblivious to that fact 

I'd say as the majority of major tournaments are played in NORTHERN hemisphere summer (World Cup, Euros, COPA America, Gold Cup, Olympics) then we go for a June based schedule.

Copa America is Southern hemisphere (except when the USA host). And the World Cup can just as easily be Southern as Northern.

[stoz]

On a pure selfish level it's a bag of wank when we lose players of the calibre of Sadio.

But we knew of the possibility when we signed him, and any other African players we've had.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Copa America is Southern hemisphere (except when the USA host). And the World Cup can just as easily be Southern as Northern.

Yet when are they played? In our summer. They don't go hang on a minute summer is in January and host the Copa America then do they? (And yes, Qatar isn't being treated as a "normal" world cup in this argument!)

[Robinred]

But we knew of the possibility when we signed him, and any other African players we've had.

And I'm sure the management considered it a negative, but wanted the player badly enough to go ahead.

And it IS a bag of shite - in terms of timing, standard of overall play, playing surface and facilities. That it's every two years is also nonsense.

[JackWard33]

But we knew of the possibility when we signed him, and any other African players we've had.

Right that doesn't mean its not shit for us though

[please, I have my reasons for it but...]

The AFCON is played every two years for a simple reason.

Africa gets only 5 spots at the World Cup, out 56 registered members. That means their World Cup qualifiers are formed out of rounds and starts three years before the actual tournament begins. It also means that if a small team get eliminated from the earlier rounds of the WCQ, they don't have to wait three years to start playing an official match if the AFCON were to be every four years instead of two.

Now, it is not ideal, but the current format gives a team like Togo, the chance to play in competitive matches during the calendar years of 2016 & 2017 (they qualified for the 2017 AFCON) after getting eliminated at the 2nd round of the WCQ back in November.

The other thing about hosting it in January has to do with the African calendar.

Most African leagues bar the Northern Zone, start their seasons in February and end it in November with a break in the months of June & July. This has to do with the rain season in Central and Western Africa during the summer, where most of the continent's countries are located. If any of you watch the CAF Champions league during the months of June & July, you can see games played on flooded pitches when they should be postponed. In essence, doing a tournament during June or July means that few countries can host it while most of the continent won't be able to host the thing.

[Medellin]

Yep it's a shite tournament,so are the Euro's & the World Cup too.

[slamjam]

Any manager who complains when they have players go off for this should be docked points. They knew if they signed a player who represents a African country this could happen it's not like they say in December we will have the tournament next month.

[Nobody cares what phone you have and that you are using the free version of Tapatalk]

[please, I have my reasons for it but...]

Yes the Copa America is on a 4 year cycle too. There was a tournament this year which was a 100th anniversary one-off.

I don't think the AFCON is a good indicator of quality. Seems Egypt win it every other year yet they barely qualify for the World Cups.

Egypt can beat Italy when they are world champions and still manage to find a way not to qualify for the World Cup. When it comes to WC Qualifications, Egypt are really cursed.

[Barneylfc∗]

Rumours that next years tournament will be back to January/February 

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1217400316037083142?s=19

AFCON 2021 will be played between January & February next season, reverting back to the typical month scheduling after last summer's tournament - relevant news as ever for Ligue 1 & Ligue 2 clubs. @Mansour_Loum indicates this should be made official on 15th January.

[Yiannis]

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1217400316037083142

We could be losing Salah, Mane and Keita for up to 6 weeks. This is bad.

[Kopenhagen]

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1217400316037083142

We could be losing Salah, Mane and Keita for up to 6 weeks. This is bad.

Potentially Matip too?

[newterp]

Potentially Matip too?

no. he doesn't play for his national team.

[Kopenhagen]

no. he doesn't play for his national team.

Right.

Guess we need a contingency plan - would be a huge blow for us in a crucial period of the season.

Shit tournament.

[Caston]

What's the reason?

[Fromola]

What a pain this is. Why is this needed every 2 years (18 months since the last one)? Not content with ruining Naby's season this year, next season is disrupted by this.

And that Club World Cup monstrosity in the summer means (if we're in it) we'll have to play all through the summer, so nobody even gets a break. June-July - club World Cup and then straight into pre-season.

[Barneylfc∗]

What's the reason?

Weather I believe

[Dench57]

This is rather bad news.

[SouthDerryLaggo]

After seeing keita hobbling off for guinea earlier in the season at what looked like a local park pitch, Id love our players to have no part in this. Sadly that won't happen.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

What a massive fucking pain in the ass this is. Two of our best players gone for that entire period. Fuck

[Caligula?]

Welcome, Timo Werner.

[redgriffin73]

What a massive fucking pain in the ass this is. Two of our best players gone for that entire period. Fuck

Unless their teams hopefully bomb out early on! But yeah, absolute shite news if it goes ahead. Wonder if things like this put some teams off buying African players?

[Dim Glas]

what a mess this is yet again, should have know it was to sensible a plan for them to stick with the summer tournament.

Should be some FIFA wide ruling that these tournaments can only be every 4 years as well. 

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Unless their teams hopefully bomb out early on! But yeah, absolute shite news if it goes ahead. Wonder if things like this put some teams off buying African players?

Not sure it stopped any club in the past.

[redgriffin73]

Not sure it stopped any club in the past.

Yeah, probably not, it would be a bit knee jerk, just a thought I had reading people's massive over reactions on twitter!