Napoli president sets a strange condition to sign African and Latin players
Napoli will not sign African or South American international players in the future unless they accept their absence from their national teams in the middle of the European football season, according to the Italian club's president, Aurelio De Laurentiis.
"I will not accept them participating in the African Nations Cup or the South American competitions," he said during a program broadcast yesterday evening by the economic website "Wall Street Italy."
He added, "Don't talk to me about African (players) anymore. I wish them luck, but either they sign me a waiver of participation in the African Nations Cup, and if not, I will never sign them."
During the last continental tournament held in Cameroon between January and February, Napoli were denied several key players in their squad, including Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who left for Chelsea this summer, and Cameroonian midfielder Frank Zambo-Anguesa.
Had it not been for the injury of Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, which led to his absence from the tournament, Napoli would have lost another star for a month of the season.
"Between this tournament and the World Cup qualifiers in South America, these players are never available. We are the idiots who pay salaries to send them to play for others."
The African Nations Cup was held every two years on its traditional date in the first two months of the year, but the next edition will be hosted by Ivory Coast in January 2024, after it was scheduled for June 2023 and was postponed due to the rainy season in Ivory Coast during the summer months, and the Copa America is held every two years during Summer But the World Cup qualifiers are held during the European season.
While there are no qualifiers for the Copa America, in which all ten teams participate, the same does not apply to the continent, which increases the number of matches during the season.
Clubs are obligated to allow international players to join their national teams during the international periods supervised by the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA).
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