Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has condemned the potential idea of moving the Africa Cup of Nations to an earlier date within the club season.
Typically, the tournament takes place in January across a four week period in which Premier League clubs allow players to compete during the club season.
The new proposed schedule is being influenced by the Club World Cup Championship which would see the tournament begin in late-December and end in late-January, overlapping with the intense Christmas period of English club football.
Changes would come into effect for the 2025/26 tournament and it is being done to accommodate the expanded Club World Cup. It takes on more significance because the 2026 World Cup would arrive in the summer and it would force FIFA to change their rules around clubs obligation to release their players for one tournament per year.
The nature of the potential ruling will inevitably add more pressure to players’ already stacked schedules and it’s a worry that has been voiced by players and managers across the past few years.
Taking to X, Carragher slammed the potential decision claiming it adds more pressure onto the players.
“The amount of football we ask the top players to play is beyond a joke. The quality drops & more importantly the injuries rise. @FIFPRO will have more battles on their hands with @UEFA @FIFAcom going forward.”
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp previously stated in 2019 that there is ‘too much football’ before then claiming that there will be problems if schedules continue to be added to.
“It is just the situation, in the long-term, is not acceptable. It’s football. It’s not riding a bike, so you lose a little bit. In the future, we have to change that! It looks like nobody can imagine a week without football in the year. When did that happen? A game again, a game again.”
For Liverpool, Mohamed Salah would be the only one applicable but his current deal expires next summer which would mean, as it stands, he wouldn’t be an issue for the club.
The same goes for Everton with Idrissa Gueye who competes for Senegal but his deal expires next summer – Abdoulaye Doucoure, will also leave in 2025 unless any new deals are agreed.
