The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced new dates for the 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
The next AFCON, which was originally slated for June 23 to July 23, 2023, has been rescheduled to take place between January and February 2024. The decision was motivated by weather concerns in the Ivory Coast. The West African nation has a tropical climate and June is the height of the rainy season, official reports say.
African football’s governing body, through President Dr. Patrice Motsepe, confirmed the postponement in the CAF Executive Committee meeting in Rabat on Sunday. Motsepe explained at a press conference:
“The 2023 Afcon will now be played between January and February 2024. 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.”
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