The Confederation of African Football (CAF) appears to have an issue on its hands regarding qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast after the football federations of Tunisia and Morocco expressed concerns over the potential scheduling of fixtures over the summer. The group stage draw has not yet been conducted by CAF with the dates for the first matches also yet to be determined but this summer appears to be the target for the start of qualifying.
As nations who are qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Tunisia and Morocco do not want qualifying to start this summer due to it being a distraction from preparations for the World Cup which starts in November. Tunisian Football Federation president Wadie Jary stated on Tunisian television that the North African country is going as far as considering a boycott of Africa’s showpiece competition next summer if CAF does not consider their demands.
BBC Sport Africa has the latest on the situation below as well as the potential issues of hosting the competition in Ivory Coast during the summer rainy season. The draw for the group stage of qualifying is set to take place later this month with 48 teams set to be drawn into 12 groups of four teams each.
