*Undated
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is now quickly approaching, with a number of high-profile players - from the Premier League and across the globe - getting set for an enticing tournament in Cameroon.
When is the Africa Cup of Nations?
The Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, January 9th as the host nation Cameroon get the ball rolling against Burkina Faso.
The group stages will come to an end on January 20th, with the first stage of the knockouts - the round of 16 - getting started three days later on January 23rd. The quarter-finals will be played over two days on January 29th and 30th, before the semi-finals take place on February 2nd and 3rd.
The final will then take place on Sunday, February 6th as the competition comes to an end. The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations was moved to the summer to avoid disruptions to the domestic leagues, which won't be the same this time round, with the likes of Liverpool set to be impacted hugely by the tournament.
Is AFCON going to go ahead?
The answer to that, as things stand, is a tentative yes. As we've seen across the pandemic, however, things can change in the blink of an eye.
The emergence of the omicron variant of Covid-19 has placed fresh doubt as to whether the tournament should go ahead, with countries around the world introducing new travel restrictions and bans. Nigeria, which neighbors the tournament's host country Cameroon, has been added to the United Kingdom's 'red list', which will certainly cause concern.
The European Club Association (ECA) recently raised concerns over player welfare, wanting to avoid a repeat of the problems experienced in the September international break, where Premier League clubs blocked players from travelling to red list countries as they would have had to quarantine on return.
Confusion remains over the situation, however, with pressure building as more and more clubs continue to be impacted heavily by covid outbreaks.
Meanwhile, the tournament's organizing committee met with CAF at the end of October to report their findings in preparation for the tournament, where it was revealed 'urgent attention' was needed to allow the competition to run safely.
How will the tournament work?
The tournament will consist of 24 teams, which have been divided into six groups of four. Both the winner and the runner-up of each group will progress to the round of 16, as will the four-best third-placed teams.
Should any nations finish on the same points come the end of the group stage, their position will be determined first by the number of points obtained in the matches between the teams in question, before goal difference and away goals scored in those specific games. The four-best third-placed teams will be determined by the total number of points obtained across their group, before goal difference and goals scored come into play.
What are the groups?
Group A:
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ethiopia
Group B:
Guinea, Malawi, Senegal, Zimbabwe
Group C:
Comoros, Gabon, Ghana, Morocco
Group D:
Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Sudan
Group E:
Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone
Group F:
Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia
FIFA rules state that players must be released no later than the Monday morning the week preceding the tournament's start, which CAF have said they are following. That would mean Premier League clubs would need to release their players by December 27th, following the set of Boxing Day fixtures.
There is a debate that, with the majority of nations getting their tournaments underway from January 10-12th, the following week, that players should be released on January 3rd.