The 34th edition of the Africa Cup will not be played, as planned, in June 2023, but will be played in January 2024 since the schedule was very tight.
The decision, motivated by the Qatar World Cup 2022made it official Patrice Motsepe, president of CAF, at a press conference held in Morocco. “The official dates will be announced shortly. We accept the advice we are receiving, we don’t want to take any risks because it would not be good for the whole movement to play a tournament that would go unnoticed. We have to postpone it,” Motsepe said.
The main reason is that, with the World Cup in the middle of the season, the league competitions finish so late that this would hinder the preparation of the participating teams in the Africa Cup. Without going any further, the last day of Serie A would be played on June 4 next year, while the African competition was due to start on the 23rd of the same month.
What does not change is the venue, which will continue to be the Ivory Coast. “I am happy and impressed by the infrastructure system made available to host the African Cup. It will be an excellent reception,” insisted Motsepe.
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