The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced two changes regarding player registrations in its tournaments, the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
Significant change in CAF player registration rules
The first decision allows clubs to register players who have previously participated with other teams in CAF competitions within the same season. This is a significant change from the previous rule, which prohibited a player from competing for two different teams in the same CAF competition season.
For example, last season, Zamalek's Egyptian player, Abdallah El Said, was prevented from playing in the CAF Confederation Cup due to his prior participation with Pyramids in the CAF Champions League.
Impact on CAF tournaments
This new rule will enable more player transfers between clubs, as players can now move freely between CAF teams without the restriction of representing multiple clubs in the same CAF season. This decision opens up new opportunities for African clubs to strengthen their squads mid-season and gives players more transfer options.
This decision in CAF's registration rules is already applied in European football, including the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
Second change: Extension of player registration deadline for CAF competitions
Additionally, CAF’s Executive Committee has extended the player registration deadline for this season’s knockout stages.
The deadline is now set for February 28, 2025, instead of the original deadline at the end of January.
This extension makes sense, considering the first decision was announced to the public less than 48 hours before the initial deadline.
It gives more time to finalize deals for players who have already participated in CAF competitions this season.
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