why are we talking about “CAN 2023” for this competition which takes place in 2024?

No spatio-temporal fault, nor error in the name of the competition. The African Cup of Nations (CAN) which takes place from January 13 to February 11 of the year 2024 in Ivory Coast continues to be called CAN 2023 on the official websites of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) or on social networks.

As with the Tokyo Olympic Games or the 2020 Euro football tournament which took place in 2021 due to the coronavirus epidemic or the CAN 2021 which took place in 2022, the CAN 2023 is organized during the following calendar year. But this time Covid-19 is not to blame.

Avoid the rainy season

The competition was initially scheduled for the months of June and July 2023. But a year earlier, Ivory Coast was hit by serious flooding caused by torrential rains, killing at least five people in its capital, Abidjan. To avoid the matches taking place in the middle of the rainy season, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, announced the postponement of the competition by six months.

This CAN therefore takes place during the winter and while the European championship matches continue. Many African players play in clubs on the Old Continent, particularly in Ligue 1. The absence of African international players in their club often raises eyebrows.

The next CAN in 2025 in Morocco is scheduled for the summer. But this time it risks entering into competition with the first edition of the Club World Cup, the possibility of a postponement cannot therefore be ruled out.