FEATURE: Alignment of the CAF calendar will be music to the ears of PSL clubs

Published on: 26 July 2017
FEATURE: Alignment of the CAF calendar will be music to the ears of PSL clubs
Recently elected president of the African Football Confederation (CAF) Ahmad Ahmad (R) speaks as Royal Moroccan Football Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa (L) and FIFA president Gianni Infantino (2L) listen on during the first ever African Football Symposium in Skhirat, on the outskirts of the Moroccan capital, on July 18, 2017.Delegates from CAF's 55 member federations, coaches, retired players as well as top football officials from FIFA are in the Moroccan capital to discuss, among other issues, the future of African Cup of Nations, including its format and timing. / AFP PHOTO / STRINGER

Changes made by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to their flagship Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament and calendar are arguably the widest reaching in the history of the organisation.

CAF have decided to shift the Afcon finals from its traditional January/February slot to June/July‚ and will also expand the tournament from 16 to 24 teams.

Added to that‚ they will now also play their CAF club competitions from August to May‚ in line with the European calender, which will be music to the ears of the Premier Soccer League and its clubs.

These changes have been met with praise and disdain‚ and will also present their own challenges for the organisation to overcome.

But on the whole‚ they make sense and are in line with the realities of global football – that the centre of power is Europe and trying to swim against the tide‚ as the Afcon has for so many years‚ is ultimately futile.

The decision to move the Nations Cup to mid-year is a boost for the careers of African players‚ who have in the past been hamstrung by their contractual obligations to their clubs in Europe.

It will end club-versus-country battles that have robbed the tournament of some of its brightest stars in the recent past‚ and be a relief to both players and teams.

There have been plenty of stories in the past of African players missing out on dream moves because the clubs concerned have not wanted to lose them for what is a crucial part of the European season every two years.

Those problems are now gone‚ but another has arisen and it will be fascinating to see how CAF side-steps it.

In many parts of Africa‚ June/July is not only the hottest period of the year‚ but has the heaviest rainfall‚ potentially wreaking havoc with pitches.

That is not universally the case‚ it is probably the best time of the year in Southern Africa‚ for example‚ but the Afcon is there to be spread around.

In Cameroon‚ Senegal and Guinea‚ where the next three Nations Cups will be held‚ the average temperature at that time of year is above 30 degrees Celsius‚ and rainfall‚ in July especially‚ expected to be heavy.

It also means though that we should have no lengthy breaks in the PSL season over January/February which have been so unpopular with fans‚ players and the sponsors in the past.

Instead we can have a small break over the festive season‚ and then get straight back into it in early January‚ adding a potential four more precious match-day weekends to the calendar.

The expansion of the finals to 24 teams will also immediately exclude many African nations in terms of the infrastructure they are able to provide – not just stadia‚ but hotels‚ road infrastructure and security.

The worry is that it means an elite band of country’s – South Africa being one of them – will be able to host the event‚ at the exclusion of others.

Nations could apply to co-host‚ but this has always been an unpopular solution with CAF in the past.

It is also debatable from a sporting point of view whether 24‚ which equates to almost half of CAF’s 56 member associations‚ is the right number of teams.

The fear is that the quality of the product could be ‘dumbed down’‚ and the allure lost.

Whereas before reaching the Nations Cup was a task to be celebrated (just ask Bafana Bafana)‚ that is now not so much the case when the door has been opened wider for many more teams to make it.

Certainly‚ if South Africa cannot find themselves among the 24 top teams on the continent‚ we have problems beyond what we comprehend at the moment.

But PSL clubs will certainly be celebrating their luck‚ with the alignment of the CAF club competitions to the South African calendar a game-changer.

With an August start and May finish‚ it means a proper pre-season for one something that Mamelodi Sundowns have not enjoyed for two years now.

It should also mean that CAF player registrations should also be aligned with the July/August and January transfer windows‚ something that has not happened in the past and left clubs unable to use their newly-acquired players in the competition until later.

Many nations will be bemoaning these changes‚ but South Africa should be smiling‚ and the PSL able to put away those serious thoughts they had of reverting to the February-November calendar to align themselves with CAF.

As luck would have it‚ CAF have aligned themselves with the PSL.

By: Nick Said - TimesLIVE

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