Football governing body FIFA has announced that clubs would not be mandated to release players called up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco until December 15, only six days before the start of the tournament. 

“By exceptional application of the same principle used for the FIFA World Cup 2022, the Bureau decided to reduce by seven days the mandatory release period for the CAF AFCON 2025, so that it instead starts on Monday, 15 December 2025,” FIFA said in a statement on Wednesday. 

The decision to shorten the mandatory release date for this year’s AFCON was deviation from traditional procedures used for previous tournaments, requiring clubs to make players available for national teams at least two weeks before the commencement of international tournaments.

In its justification, FIFA argued the step was necessary to minimise the effects of the loss of on clubs that would be releasing key players for possibly up to one month because of the AFCON. 

“When determining the dates of the 2025 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) taking place in Morocco, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), in the spirit of solidarity, decided to adjust the normal timing of the tournament from its historical January-February slot in an effort to minimise the conflict with the new scheduling of continental club competitions,” FIFA added.

“In particular, the CAF Executive Committee decided that the CAF AFCON 2025 would take place from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026 in order to avoid any conflicts with the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.”

Meanwhile, the decision has angered many football stakeholders on the continent as it would disrupt plans that many federations already put in place for the tournament, including preparatory friendly matches.

One of the stakeholders was head coach of the Angola national team, Patrice Beaumelle, who said, “FIFA only needs Africa during elections, but it doesn’t value our competitions like AFCON or give them the recognition they deserve.”