.jpg){kind=link}
Football fans have already witnessed a host of huge international tournaments in 2025. We have seen various age-group competitions, such as the Under-21 Euros, as well as the women’s European Championship. However, if it is senior men’s tournament football you have been craving, then the footballing gods have a nice little Christmas present for you, as the best is being saved until last.
The 2025 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will take place between the 21st of December and the 18th of January 2026. Ivory Coast, along with 23 other teams, will battle it out in Morocco for the right to be crowned kings of Africa. We can expect an exciting and high-class tournament, with many of the world’s best players set to be in action.
That all sounds great, but there are fans of several Premier League clubs who might be a little less enthusiastic about the African showpiece. Whilst the tournament will take place during the winter break for many top European leagues, it will come at a time when English football is at one of its most frantic, fixture-heavy phases.
Premier League Experimented with a Winter Break
The Premier League did briefly experiment with a staggered winter break. This maintained the traditional festive fixtures but gave half of the league a week off, ensuring all clubs had a short break over a two-week period. It was a short-lived experiment and in the 2025/26 campaign, it is full steam ahead throughout the 29 days of AFCON 2025. The Premier League authorities have played lip service to concerns from players, managers and unions by ensuring a longer minimum rest between rounds. They said:
The schedule continues to allow more rest time for players over the festive match-round period, with no two rounds taking place within 60 hours of each other.
However, it is still an exceptionally busy time of year for English sides, with the third round of the FA Cup to factor in as well. There is also the first leg of the League Cup semis, whilst there are also Champions League fixtures to contend with at the end of the month, almost as soon as African players return.
Of course, when a club signs an African player, they are aware that if that footballer performs well, there is every chance they will appear at AFCON. Many managers and owners deem the upsides of signing such players outweigh the fact that they could lose them to international duty. Even so, there is no doubt that some clubs will be badly affected by this year’s tournament.
How Many Games Might a Player Miss?
There are six rounds of Premier League fixtures scheduled to take place during AFCON. In addition, there is the FA Cup, and a possible EFL Cup semi as well. For players of the bigger African sides, who will fancy their chances of being involved right to the glorious end, that could mean missing eight games with their clubs.
That is before we factor in any matches they might miss due to travel, pre-tournament training and acclimatisation. And, of course, there is also what all fans fear most when it comes to any sort of international football – sustaining a serious injury.
Sunderland Could Struggle
We know all 24 teams that will be heading to Morocco in December, but what we do not yet know is the squad make-up of all the Premier League teams. At the time of writing, the transfer window is still ongoing, and by the time it closes, even more AFCON-eligible players will likely be brought into the top tier of English football. Several African players ply their trade in the Championship, but our focus here is the Premier League.
When it comes to the English top tier, no side seems likely to be worse affected by AFCON than Sunderland. Given the club came up through the play-offs, having finished fourth, fully 24 points shy of automatic promotion, they were always likely to struggle in the Premier League. However, in the summer they sold their best young player, Jobe Bellingham, so it is no surprise they are the huge, odds-on favourites to be relegated.
In fact, the Black Cats are priced at odds of just 7/4 to finish rock bottom. Given that they may well lose seven players to the Africa Cup of Nations, it may surprise some that those odds are not even shorter. And the club could still sign even more AFCON candidates before the window closes, so they could certainly find the dressing room a little less crowded in December and January.
Sunderland’s African contingent includes the following players: Blondy Nna Noukeu, from Cameroon, Habib Diarra (Senegal), Nigerian forward Ahmed Abdullahi, Reinildo Mandava of Mozambique, Chemsdine Talbi of the host nation, Noah Sadiki (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Ivorian Simon Adingra. Four of those players, Diarra, Adingra, Talbi and Sadiki, are among the five big-money additions the Mackems have made this window. How wise those transfers will prove, only time can tell.
Quartet Unaffected
As August draws nearer, there are just four teams in the top flight who will not have a representative at AFCON. None of the four teams is likely to find themselves safely in mid-table come May, so the fact that this tournament will have no impact on their squads (as things stand) could make the difference between achieving their goals and missing out.
Leeds United have the edge over Sunderland and other relegation rivals, Burnley (who might lose four players) and Wolves (who also have four AFCON candidates). Arsenal may just feel that the fact that they will not lose anyone might help them to the title. Liverpool will have Mo Salah on international duty, whilst Man City will see Omar Marmoush (Egypt) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria) head to Morocco.
The other two clubs unaffected by the tournament are Newcastle and Aston Villa. The former might feel they can push for the title if they hold onto Alexander Isak and make a few more additions. Realistically, however, both they and Villa could have an advantage in the race for the top four.
Really though, the impact of this tournament on clubs is often overstated. Ultimately, a run of six games is just a small part of the season – and many players will return sooner anyway. So let’s just enjoy the football and look forward to seeing stars such as Salah, PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, Sadio Mane, Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and many more.