There was a shock for the African national teams after FIFA decided to reduce the mandatory release period for players ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The two-week release window, which is the norm, has been changed in such a way that clubs should be free of players from December 15th, only six days before the tournament, which starts on December 21st.
The change, which came late in the day, less than three weeks to kickoff, made the countries cancel or alter preparation plans they had already scheduled to some extent. Senegal has not only canceled their training camp in Tunisia but also Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Mozambique, and Angola are rethinking their planned camps in Portugal and Spain.
Patrice Beaumelle, the coach of the Angola team, was so upset and even confessed that planning for months had been like starting all over again. “We planned to start camp in the Algarve on December 8th. Everything was prepared. Now, everything is at risk,” he explained, also noting that they should be in Morocco on December 18th as they have a match there on the 22nd.
There have also been several possible friendly matches that will not be played. Gabon is now expecting to hold a single friendly match instead of two.
According to FIFA, the shortened release is the same as the 2022 World Cup model and intends to “reduce the impact on various parties.” However, Mali coach Tom Saintfiet reacted negatively to the decision, saying it does not respect African football.
