Black Stars Head Coach Chris Hughton has stated that the issue of football clubs releasing their players for the upcoming African Cup of Nations tournament is not one that is up for debate.
According to the gaffer, it is not up to clubs to determine the availability of players for national duty.
Speaking in an interview with UK’s TalkSport on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, Chris Hughton said clubs, under the circumstances, can negotiate for some conditions, such as when their players report to camp based on relationships, but cannot stop the players from honouring national call-ups.
“We have an African Cup of Nations in January. This is when a team or a particular country wants their players to turn up for camp. They don’t have a choice. What can happen and what has always happened is relationships between clubs, and there will be some negotiations with some countries that will have an association with the clubs that maybe allows a particular player to come two days later than the others,” he stated.
CAF published on Wednesday a list of provisional squads submitted by the various coaches who will be leading countries into the January 13–February 11, 2024, tournament.
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In Ghana’s case, Chris Hughton has listed a 55-man squad made up of 11 local-based players playing in the Ghana Premier League.
As per CAF regulations, the coach is expected to submit a final 27-man list before January 3, 2023.
Ghana has been paired in Group B with Egypt, Mozambique, and Cape Verde for the tournament, which will be hosted by the Ivory Coast.
Over the years, club and league officials across the globe have expressed concerns over the scheduling of the AFCON tournament, which usually takes place in the middle of the European and other league seasons.
According to them, the AFCON calendar causes disruption to the performance of teams, which usually have to release their players for national duty in the middle of the season.
