Africa Cup of Nations 2024: Dates, fixtures and games Premier League stars will miss
Senegal will defend their Africa Cup of Nations title in the Ivory Coast in January and February - having defeated Egypt in the final of the last tournament two years ago
The Africa Cup of Nations gets underway this month
The Africa Cup of Nations gets underway this month (Image: Getty Images)
ByTom BlowSports Writer
BOOKMARK
Will Mohamed Salah finally win the Africa Cup of Nations this year?
The 2023 AFCON, which was delayed by six months to be played in cooler temperatures, will take place in the Ivory Coast between January 13 and February 11. A total of 24 nations will take part in the tournament, including Salah's Egypt and defending champions Senegal.
Sadio Mane inspired Senegal to victory against Egypt in the final two years ago, with Salah's nation also coming up short in 2017. The Liverpool legend would love to finally get over the line this year in the Ivory Coast, but doing so won't be easy.
There will be plenty of great players on show at the AFCON, including 31 from the Premier League. The likes of Brentford striker Yoane Wissa, Fulham winger Alex Iwobi and Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana will feature in the tournament.
Full list of Premier League players in AFCON and Asian Cup including Mohamed Salah
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Hosts Ivory Coast have qualified for the AFCON... and so have former champions Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, DR Congo and Cameroon. None of the 24 qualified nations will make their debut in the competition.
Previous runners-up Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea - as well as Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritania, Gambia and Namibia - will all look to win their maiden AFCON title. It promises to be a great tournament.
Mohamed Salah is hoping to finally win the AFCON in February
Mohamed Salah is hoping to finally win the AFCON in February ( Image: Getty Images)
Who do you think will win the Africa Cup of Nations? Let us know in the comments below!
Sky Sports will show live coverage of the AFCON, while the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) YouTube channel will also show some free action.
Senegal are the favourites to retain their crown, but Morocco, hosts Ivory Coast and Algeria are also fancied by the bookies. Despite boasting Salah's talents, Egypt - as well as Cameroon, Nigeria, Tunisia and Ghana - aren't expected to go the distance.
What are the AFCON fixtures?
Saturday 13th January
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau, 8pm
Sunday 14th January
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea, 2pm
Egypt vs Mozambique, 5pm
Ghana vs Cape Verde, 8pm
Monday 15th January
Senegal vs Gambia, 2pm
Cameroon vs Guinea, 5pm
Algeria vs Angola, 8pm
Tuesday 16th January
Burkina Faso vs Mauritania, 2pm
Tunisia vs Namibia, 5pm
Mali vs South Africa, 8pm
Wednesday 17th January
Morocco vs Tanzania, 5pm
DR Congo vs Zambia, 8pm
Thursday 18th January
Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau, 2pm
Ivory Coast vs Nigeria, 5pm
Egypt vs Ghana, 8pm
Friday 19th January
Cape Verde vs Mozambique, 2pm
Senegal vs Cameroon, 5pm
Guinea vs Gambia, 8pm
Saturday 20th January
Algeria vs Burkina Faso, 2pm
Mauritania vs Angola, 5pm
Tunisia vs Mali, 8pm
Sunday 21st January
Morocco vs DR Congo, 2pm
Zambia vs Tanzania, 5pm
South Africa vs Namibia, 8pm
Monday 22nd January
Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast, 5pm
Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria, 5pm
Cape Verde vs Egypt, 8pm
Mozambique vs Ghana, 8pm
Tuesday 23rd January
Gambia vs Cameroon, 5pm
Guinea vs Senegal, 5pm
Angola vs Burkina Faso, 8pm
Mauritania vs Algeria, 8pm
Wednesday 24th January
Namibia vs Mali, 5pm
South Africa, Tunisia, 5pm
Tanzania vs DR Congo, 8pm
Zambia vs Morocco, 8pm
Saturday 27th January
Group D Winner vs Third Place Group B/E/F, 5pm
Group A Runner-up vs Group C Runner-up, 8pm
Sunday 28th January
Group A Winner vs Third Place Group C/D/E, 5pm
Ground B Runner-up vs Group F Runner-up, 8pm
Monday 29th January
Group B Winner vs Third Place Group A/C/D, 5pm
Group C Winner vs Third Place Group A/B/F, 8pm
Tuesday 30th January
Group E Winner vs Group D Runner-up, 5pm
Group F Winner vs Group E Runner-up, 8pm
Friday 2nd February
Quarter-final 1, 5pm
Quarter-final 2, 8pm
Saturday 3rd February
Quarter-final 3, 5pm
Quater-final 4, 8pm
Wednesday 7th February
Semi-final 1, 5pm
Semi-final 2, 8pm
Saturday 10th February
Third-place play-off, 8pm
Sunday 11th February
Final, 8pm
Which Premier League players are involved?
Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)
Aston Villa: Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)
Bournemouth: Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Antoine Semenyo (Ghana)
Brentford: Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
Brighton: Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast)
Chelsea: Nicolas Jackson (Senegal)
Crystal Palace: Jordan Ayew (Ghana)
Everton: Idrissa Gueye (Senegal)
Fulham: Fode Ballo-Toure (Senegal), Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Luton: Issa Kabore (Burkina Faso)
Manchester United: Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Andre Onana (Cameroon)
Nottingham Forest: Ola Aina (Nigeria), Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Moussa Niakhate (Senegal), Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast)
Sheffield United: Yasser Larouci (Algeria), Anis Ben Slimane (Tunisia)
Tottenham: Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
The Mirror