CAF, European Clubs at War over Release of Players for AFCON

COUNTRY VERSUS CLUB

Femi Solaja with agency report

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has dismissed reports in the European media that the continent’s premier tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to begin on January 9 in Cameroon will be cancelled. CAF insisted the tournament will take place as planned.

This is the second time within one month that CAF will state categorically that it will not shift the tournament because of the pressure from top European clubs that will lose the services of their African players.

The last edition of the tournament held in Egypt had the greatest assemblage of top players plying their trades in Europe because the 2019 edition held in summer when league seasons were over.

But playing the next AFCON in the equatorial region of the continent was the reason behind the change from June back to January because of persistent rain fall that may disrupt the flow of matches.

To further justify its readiness for the tournament, top officials of the continental football body are already on ground in Cameroon to step up the final preparations of the 24-team event that will kick off in Yaounde.

French media outfit, RMC Sport, has been leading the campaign that CAF has been forced to take the decision to cancel the tournament because of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

RMC Sport appears the megaphone of the European Clubs Association (ECA) which is the umbrella body for the big clubs in Europe. They do not want to lose their African stars during the AFCON. They are therefore using the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus as excuse.

However, ECA has written Mr Mathias Grafstrom, FIFA’s Deputy Secretary General to insist that top clubs in Europe having African players were not going to release them for the tournament in Cameroon.

“With the January 2022 window and the AFCON fast approaching, all stakeholders are again unfortunately having to deal with an aggravation of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent implementation of new restrictions by various governmental authorities.

“As you know, the pandemic and its associated implications raise three fundamental concerns for clubs when it comes to the release of players to national teams: first and foremost, the clubs’ duty to ensure each and every player’s wellbeing is properly protected; second, that clubs are not forced to be without players for club competition matches; third, that all players resume their activities with their clubs following national duty in a timely fashion, as per the applicable rules.”

ECA insisted that: “With regards to applicable protocols, as far as we are aware, CAF (the Confederation of African football) has not yet made available a suitable medical and operational protocol for the AFCON tournament, in the absence of which clubs will not be able to release players for the tournament.”

CAF on the other hand has responded to the claims of the European body, insisting that its top official, the CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba, has arrived in the Cameroon to seal preparation for the tournament.

Mosengo-Omba is joining a strong CAF team that is already on the ground in Cameroon together with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Cameroon government to deliver a great competition.

“We have put the best support system for this competition. For the last few months, our office in Cairo and also the office in Yaoundé has been working closely with the Cameroon government and the LOC in ensuring that we create the best possible conditions for the teams and visitors,” Mosengo-Omba said yesterday afternoon.

“We are working on a number of aspects now including ensuring the movement of the 24 participating teams, the commercial partners and other stakeholders coming to Cameroon.”

The top leagues in Europe are oiled by the brilliance of African footballers like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane of Liverpool, Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, Thomas Partey of Ghana as well as Gabon’s Pierre Aubameyang, Achraf Hakimi and Idrissa Gana Gueye of Paris Saint-Germain etc.

The AFCON will be held in Cameroon between January 9 and February 6.