CAN 2025: les joueurs libérés des clubs une semaine avant le tournoi, colère des sélectionneurs
Three weeks before the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, FIFA reached an agreement with the clubs: they will only be required to release their international players on December 15th, less than a week before the start of the tournament, instead of the usual two weeks for a continental tournament. This is likely to disrupt AFCON preparations and has angered national team coaches.
Patrice Beaumelle was stunned to learn the news late Monday evening, December 1, 2025, via a FIFA circular. The Angola coach is furious about this change in regulations. "Clubs were required to release players by the 8th, and now they find out they can keep them until the 15th. So naturally, they're not going to hesitate and will keep the players, which I find truly appalling," he lamented.
Gernot Rohr, his counterpart from Benin, agrees: "It's still insufficient to prepare a football team for such a big tournament, and it's disrespectful to the coaches. We are angry."
With the Benin Cheetahs scheduled to begin their training camp in Morocco on December 10th, the coach is imploring clubs to release their international players: "We need them to play their part. It's going to be very complicated now."
"This is disastrous for preparing for an Africa Cup of Nations."
For its part, the Angolan delegation had planned a ten-day training camp in southern Portugal, starting on December 8, with two friendly matches.
“If the players are not released on the 15th, we will only have three training sessions before leaving for Marrakech four days before our first match. Three sessions, it’s no longer a training camp, but just a makeshift solution! And I think that to prepare for an Africa Cup of Nations, it’s disastrous,” laments Patrice Beaumelle.
He also emphasizes the economic consequences of this last-minute change, including stadium rentals, transportation, and hotel bookings.
The Palancas Negras coach also denounced a lack of respect for African football in general: “Africa has 54 federations. When it comes to seeking votes to be elected to FIFA, they know how to use the continent. However, when it comes to preserving it, promoting it, and valuing it appropriately, they forget to respect it. They respect neither the federations nor the players; it's truly sad.”
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