*Undated
The FIFA club world cup will run from February 3rd to February 12th, 2022 while the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will run from 9th January to 6th February in the United Arab Emirates after original hosts Japan pulled out because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This now means that the two tournaments will overlap.
Concerns have now been raised from the footballing community more so in Africa where the proposed fixture calendar is believed to be disrespecting and belittling African Football.
Egyptians Al Ahly will be Africa's representatives in the UAE and could also be without several players depending on their respective countries' progress at the Nations Cup.
"Fifa deciding to hold the Club World Cup while Afcon is going on is a sign of disrespect to African football," former Ajax and Tottenham striker Mido expressed his views on Twitter. "It wouldn't have been the case with the Euros or Copa America."
The Club World Cup sees the winners of the continental cups in Fifa's six confederations, along with the UAE league champions, compete to become world club champions. Al Ahly says its participation in the tournament will be impacted as the club expects to have "more than seven players" in the Egypt squad for the Nations Cup, along with three other internationals on duty in Cameroon.
The Cairo-based outfit will write official letters to the Egyptian FA, Nations Cup organisers Confederation of African Football and Fifa on Tuesday, requesting the three bodies "collaborate to resolve the clash of dates" between the two events. Al Ahly, holders of the African Champions League, will face CF Monterrey of Mexico when they enter the Club World Cup in the second round, which is likely to take place on the same day as the Nations Cup final.
The Blues may be missing goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and winger Hakim Ziyech if Senegal and Morocco respectively have good runs at the Nations Cup. Chelsea already have a jam-packed fixture list but they will now need to fit in more games.
The Club World Cup will mean the Blues will need to rearrange their Premier League games with Brighton and Arsenal. Thomas Tuchel’s men may also need to move a FA Cup fourth round game should they get that far. It means the current Premier League leaders could go a month without top-flight football in a huge disruption to their campaign.
The Confederation of African Football – which has essentially been run by Fifa since the beginning of August – insists the switch is a specific issue to do with the weather in Cameroon in June. But Cameroon’s climate is not dissimilar to that of Ivory Coast, which will host in 2023. Average June temperature and humidity is much the same in Yaoundé and Abidjan, but June rainfall is almost double in Abidjan.
If the rainy season is the issue, the argument to move the 2023 tournament is much stronger. Mid‑January 2023, though, is three weeks after the World Cup final in Qatar. It’s almost as if African football isn’t the main consideration.
Fifa’s Infantino, in admittedly vague terms, has spoken of plans for a pan-African league to generate revenue, raise the standard of football across the continent and slow the drain of talent to Europe. That sounds a noble aim and if Fifa’s Club World Cup is to prosper, it requires strong clubs from across the globe. But a super league is a super league and a little probing suggests the idea would be for a closed format.
Which raises an immediate question: if you are in effect franchising a league across Africa, can you afford Al Ahly and Zamalek, Hearts of Oak and Kotoko, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs or would the great rivalries that have energised football for generations be lost? Not to mention the impact on clubs slightly further down the pyramid.