Why is the African Cup called AFCON 2023 if it is played in 2024?

AFCON 2023 was due to be played in the Ivory Coast in June and July 2023 before being subject to a schedule change.

Club managers of teams across Europe are grinding their teeth in frustration, while crossing their fingers in quick, injury-free exits, as some of their leading players head off to the Africa Cup of Nations in the middle of their domestic season. In the Premier League alone, Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp will be without Mohamed Salah for the next few weeks, while Nottingham Forest will be without no fewer than six players who are competing in the tournament in the Ivory Coast.

When is the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations?

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations runs from Saturday 13 January to Sunday 11 February 2024, which may be confusing to some.

While the 2020 Olympic Games and the 2020 European Championship - among other competitions - were actually held in 2021, they were postponed due to the worldwide covid-19 pandemic (you may remember), which the World Health Organisation officially declared to be over in May last year.

AFCON historically avoids Northern Hemisphere summer

Sporting events have, on the whole, gone back to “normal” in the last couple of years, yet the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations is an exception.

AFCON has historically been played during winter months in the Northern Hemisphere, mainly due to weather conditions in most African host countries. While not as fixed as the World Cup (2022 aside), the first 31 editions of the competition - between 1957 and 2017 - were played at some point between November and April, when temperatures are generally milder across the continent.

2019 Africa Cup of Nations played in June and July for first time

However, the 2019 tournament was in held in Egypt during the Northern Hemisphere summer for the first time ever, running from 21 June to 19 July. This happened in an attempt to reduce scheduling conflicts with European clubs, who have an increasing number of African players on their books.

AFCONs 2021 and 2023 both originally planned to follow suit, but the first of those tournaments was moved on two separate occasions, first to January/February 2021 because of “unfavourable climatic conditions” in Cameroon in June and July, and then to January/February 2022 because of the pandemic.

Why was AFCON 2023 postponed?

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has been subject to a similar climate-related change, with the tournament, initially planned for June and July 2023, postponed to avoid Ivory Coast’s rainy season.

“We cannot take the risk,” said Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). “January is not the ideal time because of the European clubs, but it is the only choice we have.”

Here at AS USA we’ll be bringing you all the key action and updates from AFCON 2023.