Who are the pros and antis "CAN every four years"?

Text by: David Kalfa Follow

The proposal of Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Football Federation, continues to provoke heated debates. Should the African Cup of Nations be held every four years instead of every two years? The pros and the antis are torn around this question. Who are they ?

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THEY ARE FOR

FIFA

It was the president of the International Football Federation (FIFA) who launched the idea of ​​a CAN every four years , in front of the entire staff of African football. Since the election of Gianni Infantino, FIFA has continued to expand its competitions: Men's World Cup with 48 nations, plan for a Women's World Cup every two years, Club World Cup expanded to 24 teams … In an overloaded international calendar, FIFA must make the most of its tournaments.

Some European clubs

The majority of the best African players, who generally compete in the CAN, play in European clubs. For twenty years, the teams of the Old Continent have complained, sometimes vehemently, of the fact that the African Cup of Nations took place at the start of the year, during the high season. With CAN 2019, which took place in June / July, the tone had become less virulent. But the announcement of a CAN 2021 four weeks in January-February threw a chill in Europe. Coach Jürgen Klopp , including Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Naby Keita and Joël Matip, said the decision by CAF and Cameroon was a " disaster ".

FIFPro Africa

The African branch of the global players' union has taken a strong position by declaring itself in favor of a CAN every four years. In the past, many players have expressed concern about the risk of leaving your club in high season to compete in the African Cup of Nations. Footballers past or present, like the Tunisian Radhi Jaidi or the Senegalese Ricardo Faty, have in any case been favorable to this suggestion.

Money still money ... ok but every 2 years the CAN loses interest, made in a hurry ...
if we want to get down to the European level, we have to organize it every 4 years. That it is better prepared by the countries, rarer more expected ... therefore more lucrative https://t.co/h4Si6FYOtl

Didier drogba

Former striker Didier Drogba, honorary president of FIFPro Africa, has never overlooked an African Cup of Nations to preserve his club career. But the Ivorian superstar nonetheless supported Gianni Infantino's proposal . " This can be a good thing because it would give a very special flavor to this trophy by its rarity, " he said in particular, visiting Paris.

THEY ARE AGAINST

Samuel Eto'o

The other African icon of the past twenty years has taken the opposite view of Drogba. In RFI's African Debate , the Cameroonian strongly criticized the statements of Gianni Infantino: " Is it in the interest of Africans to organize a CAN every four years? I think it is rather that of Europeans. They want to have available Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Another legend, the Senegalese El Hadji Diouf, also stressed that he preferred a final phase every two years.

CAF, traditionally

The CAF Executive Committee, which meets this February 14 in Doha, on the sidelines of the African Super Cup, has not yet delivered its opinion on the subject. But, traditionally, CAF has always strongly defended the principle of a CAN every two years. This is particularly true of its financial health (currently precarious), the African Cup providing most of the income of the African Football Confederation.

Most African football fans

A glance at the countless reactions on social networks and the various surveys carried out online leaves little room for doubts: African fans of round ball generally hold on to the African Cup every two years. Admittedly, the fact that the proposal comes from a European, who heads FIFA, exacerbates the positions. But in July 2017, before the CAF overturned the organization of the CAN, rfi.fr had carried out a large survey . And the result was already unambiguous: 74% of voters wanted to keep the current frequency of the African Cup of Nations.

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