When is the Africa Cup of Nations and which Premier League players are going?
A multitude of top-flight stars are slated to head to the tournament next month
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Your support makes all the difference.The Africa Cup of Nations is due to start in January, despite earlier doubts over whether it would go ahead due to the surge in Covid cases.
The tournament has already been postponed twice but Cameroon are now set to play hosts next month, meaning Premier League clubs will be left without several stars for varying lengths of time, depending on when call-ups are enforced and how long nations stay involved.
The squads for the competition are yet to be confirmed and so it’s uncertain precisely who will be leaving. But one player all but guaranteed to be the face of the tournament is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. The Reds striker will be sorely missed as he is in the form of his life, scoring 15 league goals from 18 appearances.
Jurgen Klopp will be hoping the likes of Diogo Jota step up in Salah’s absence so the side can continue to hunt down league leaders Manchester City.
But who else could be missing and where can fans watch the Afcon? Here’s all you need to know.
When is it?
The tournament is due to begin on 9 Janaury with the group stage, which will run until 20 January. The round of 16 will then take place from 23-26 January, with quarter-finals on 29-30 January, semis on 2-3 February and the final on 6 February.
How can I watch?
Sky Sports has the rights to the competition and will show all matches on their channels.
If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOW TV day pass here to watch without a subscription.
The BBC will show 10 games live, including both semis and the final.
Games will be streamed via the Sky Go app and the BBC iPlayer.
Full list of Premier League stars potentially competing
Arsenal: Thomas Partey (Ghana), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast)
Aston Villa: Trezeguet (Egypt), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Marvelous Nakamba (Zimbabwe)
Brentford: Julian Jeanvier (Guinea), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Tarique Fosu-Henry (Ghana)
Brighton: Yves Bissouma (Mali)
Burnley: Maxwel Cornet (Ivory Coast)
Chelsea: Edouard Mendy (Senegal) and Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)
Crystal Palace: Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana), Jordan Ayew (Ghana), Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast)
Everton: Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Ivory Coast) and Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
Leicester: Daniel Amartey (Ghana), Nampalys Mendy (Senegal), Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria), Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria)
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Naby Keita (Guinea), Sadio Mane (Senegal)
Manchester City: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Manchester United: Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
Southampton: Moussa Djenepo (Mali), Mohammed Salisu (Ghana)
Watford: Peter Etebo (Nigeria), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria), Adam Masina (Morocco), Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Emmanuel Dennis (Nigeria)
West Ham: Said Benrahma (Algeria)
Wolves: Romain Saiss (Morocco), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast)
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