The Confederation of African Football, CAF, announced over the weekend that they will switch the scheduling of the African Nations Cup to odd years beginning after the next edition in 2012, after meeting in Cairo.
The next edition is scheduled for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea (1oKit is looking for any excuse to go there), before Libya hosts next (see the aside for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea). Libya agreed to move the scheduled 2014 cup to 2013 – “no worries” said Moummar Ghadaffi.
The re-programming will put Africa on schedule with CONCACAF, which currently plays two regional championships during each World Cup cycle, and get the continent off the schedule in World Cup years.
The African Nations Cup causes problems since it is played in January, to avoid the worst heat of the African summer, causing Africa’s Europe-based stars to miss club time and risk injury mid season.
What do you think of the decision? Is it about time Africa looked at its schedule? Could they consider playing over the summer instead of in January?
[...] African Cup of Nations Dates to Change [...]