Categories: AFCONNigeria

CAF announces change of date to AFCON kick-off

The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has extended the start of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFOCN) by six days in a bid to cater for Muslim players who will be involve in Ramadan fasting.

The bi-annual tournament which was expected to kick-start on June 15 will now commence on June 21.

Some of Africa’s biggest stars, including Egypt forward Mohamed Salah and Senegal winger Sadio Mane, are Muslims.

Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, making it difficult for their teams to train or play.

This year, Ramadan ends on June 4 and the move by CAF gives Muslim players nearly a week extra to prepare for Africa’s top tournament.

This post was last modified on January 28, 2019 5:31 pm

Augustine

Augustine is a Writer at Soccernet.ng. He is a graduate of Mass Communication with 10 years experience working with reputable publications including Complete Sports. augustine@soccernet.com.ng

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