2023 AFCON Postponed To 2024 – CAF Confirms

Dr Patrice Motsepe, the incumbent President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been postponed and it would be played between January and February 2024 instead.

On Sunday, July 3 2022, the CAF Executive Committee took the decision to postpone the tournament, to be hosted in Ivory Coast to 2024.

Before CAF postponed the tournament, it initially scheduled to be played in June and July next year but worries over the rainy season in Cote d’Ivoire was the major reason the Executive Council of Africa’s football governing body concluded to postpone the showpiece.

Just like Ghana, serious floods have hit the West African country in recent months, alerting CAF to postpone the tournament to January and February 2024, when there is less likelihood of downpours.

“The 2023 AFCON will now be played between January and February 2024,” Mostepe told the media during a press conference in Rabat.

“This is one of the issues we discussed during our congress meeting here in Morocco and the official dates will be communicated later.

“It is after deliberations we came into the decision, we have partners and even though we make decisions, it is out of respect that we take the advice we are getting that we cannot take a risk [to host the tournament] and so that is why we have made the necessary announcement today [Sunday].

“It is not good for African football to play a tournament that can be washed out, it is not good for Africa and the continent at large and so we have to postpone it,” he explained.

The last edition of the AFCON tournament was won by Senegal after they defeated Egypt on penalties to clinch their first AFCON trophy.

As a result of that, Senegal declared February 7 2022 as national holiday to celebrate the victory in a grand style.