President of the Confederation of African Football(CAF), Patrice Motsepe, has announced that the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will not take place as planned.
The 2023 AFCON, which will be hosted by Ivory Coast, was originally scheduled to begin in June 2023 and end in July 2023.
Mostepe confirmed the rescheduling of the tournament from June-July to January-February 2024 during a press conference in Morocco on Sunday, July 3, 2022.
“TotalEnegies Africa Cup of Nation will now be held in January and February of 2024,” he said.
He also praised the host country for improving the infrastructure and facilities that would ensure the tournament’s success.
“And even said so, I am so proud of the world-class infrastructure, facilities, support from the president, Alassane Ouattara, the prime minister (Patrick Achi) and the whole cabinet and the whole of football people in Cote D’Ivoire. I think the competition is going to be very special,” he said.
According to the CAF president, the new date is due to the Ivory Coast’s high rainfall from June to July.
The 2023 AFCON qualifiers have already begun, with two group matches taking place in June 2022. The qualifiers will continue in September, with the qualification round set to end in March 2023.
Ghana, who are in Group D with Madagascar, Angola, and the Central African Republic, won and drew their first two games.
The Black Stars defeated Madagascar in the first game before drawing with Central African Republic in the second.
