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Mandatory Release of Africa Cup of Nations Players Cut by a Week, Says FIFA
FIFA shortened the player release period for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to reduce club disruptions, with teams gaining an extra week, officials said.
- Dec 3, FIFA announced a delay in mandatory player release for the Africa Cup of Nations until December 15, altering the standard international window ahead of the Morocco tournament.
- Following consultations led by FIFA, the shortened release was agreed with the Confederation of African Football and stakeholders to reduce impact, and FIFA encouraged bilateral talks between national federations and clubs.
- The tournament schedule means national teams face less than a week to prepare after the African Nations Cup, December 21, 2025 to January 18, while the Champions League runs until December 10.
- Some clubs face heavy absences, with Sunderland possibly missing up to seven players and Wolverhampton Wanderers up to five, while Liverpool lose Mohamed Salah and Manchester United lose Bryan Mbeumo, but Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds remain unaffected.
- In league-specific relief, Bayern Munich's Nicolas Jackson will miss few Bundesliga games due to the winter break from December 22 to January 8, while Paris Saint-Germain will lose Achraf Hakimi.
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33 Articles
33 Articles
Soccer-FIFA ruling on players' release date upsets Cup of Nations preparations
CAPE TOWN, Dec 4 (Reuters) - African countries were left scrambling to change their preparation plans after a surprise FIFA decision to cut down the time players must be released to their national teams ahead of this month's Africa Cup of Nations finals. Read full story
·Malaysia
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Africa Cup of Nations: African (Very) Selectors Pissed Off Against the Late Release of Their Players
While Fifa has agreed to postpone the players' release date for the CAN for a week, African breeders do not hide their anger.
·Paris, France
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Under pressure from the clubs, the Fifa allowed them to release their players selected for the CAN only on 15 December, while the tournament began on 21 December.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources33
Leaning Left3Leaning Right3Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution38% Left, 37% Right
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources lean Left, 37% of the sources lean Right
38% Left
L 38%
C 25%
R 37%
Factuality
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