Former Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has raised concerns about the scheduling of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, highlighting the challenges it presents for African players.
The tournament's new dates, scheduled for December 2025 to January 2026, were announced following a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Council meeting last Friday.
Agyemang-Badu expressed the difficulty faced by top African players based in Europe, who must juggle club commitments and miss the festive season with their families. He shared his thoughts with Joy Sports, saying, "It's a very difficult situation but this is our job. This is the kind of job we want to do."
"You need to be there and represent your country, you need to make yourself proud, your country proud so whenever you get the call-up whether it's Christmas time, whether the European club will worry us, you just need to come and do the job for your country."
Originally planned for June/July 2025, the AFCON rescheduling was due to Morocco hosting the expanded Club World Cup during that period. An alternative early 2026 schedule was deemed impractical due to conflicts with the FIFA World Cup calendar.
Badu also urged CAF to avoid future scheduling conflicts, stating, "It's just unfortunate but we need to abide with it and just go with it. I hope it will not repeat itself because it will bring a lot of chaos for the players."
The Ivory Coast currently holds the title of African champions, having won the delayed 2023 tournament on home soil in February 2024.
