Confederation of African Football makes AFCON decision that affects Super Eagles

The Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has postponed the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations that will held in Ivory Coast citing the unfavorable weather conditions.

The 34th edition of Africa's flagship football competition has been shifted to the dry season in Ivory Coast, January 2024.

AFCON 2023 was initially scheduled to be held from June 23 to July 23, 2023 in the West African Nation.

The Super Eagles are well-placed to qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations after winning their first two matches in Group A of qualifying against Sierra Leone and  São Tomé and Príncipe.

The last edition of the AFCON staged in Cameroon was postponed from 2021 to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, July 3, CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe stated : "The 2023 Afcon will now be played between January and February 2024.

"This is one of the issues we discussed during our congress meeting here in Morocco and the official dates will be communicated later.

"It is after deliberations we came into the decision, we have partners and even though we make decisions, it is out of respect that we take the advice we are getting that we cannot take a risk [to host the tournament] and so that is why we have made the necessary announcement today [Sunday].

"It is not good for African football to play a tournament that can be washed out, it is not good for Africa and the continent at large and so we have to postpone it."

The Super Eagles will host nearest Group A challengers in AFCON qualifying, Guinea-Bissau in September 2022.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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