The 24 countries competing in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations have now been confirmed for the winter tournament, with a heavy Premier League presence expected.
Cameroon and Namibia were the last two teams to book their place in the tournament, which will kick off on 13 January 2024 with the final scheduled for 11 February.
Which players could feature for their country at AFCON 2023?
When AFCON last took place in Cameroon two years ago, 34 Premier League players featured from 12 countries across the tournament.
That number could increase to 46 this time, representing a total of 13 countries, during a busy period of the English schedule that includes both Premier League and FA Cup matches.
Players could be absent from domestic duty for up to eight matches as players are expected to be on international duty for some days before and after the tournament.
The mid-season player break will take place between 13-27 January, with Matchweek 21 of the Premier League split across the weekends of 13-14 and 20-21 January 2024.
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 January | FA Cup third round |
| W/C 8 January | Carabao Cup semi-final first legs |
| 13 January | PL Matchweek 21 begins |
| 13 January | First match of AFCON |
| 13-27 January | Mid-season player break |
| W/C 22 January | Carabao Cup semi-final second legs |
| 27 January | FA Cup fourth round |
| 30 January | PL Matchweek 22 begins |
| 3 February | PL Matchweek 23 begins |
| 10 February | PL Matchweek 24 begins |
| 11 February | AFCON final |
Nottingham Forest could potentially be affected the most. Six members of Steve Cooper's Forest squad, including Ibrahim Sangare and Moussa Niakhate, may be away for an extended period.
Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, could miss crucial fixtures for Liverpool against Chelsea and Arsenal.
Only Manchester City and Newcastle United of the 20 Premier League clubs are unlikely to have any player representation at AFCON.
Listed below are the 24 countries who have qualified and the players who could represent them next year.
Angola: No players
Algeria: Said Benrahma (West Ham), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolverhampton Wanderers) Yasser Larouci (Sheff Utd)
Burkina Faso: Bertrand Traore (Aston Villa), Dango Ouattara (AFC Bournemouth) Issa Kabore (Luton Town)
Cameroon: Andre Onana (Man Utd), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford), Carlos Baleba (Brighton)
Cape Verde: No players
DR Congo: Yoane Wissa (Brentford), Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu (Luton)
Egypt: Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Equatorial Guinea: No players
Gambia: No players
Ghana: Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Mohammed Kudus (West Ham United)
Guinea: No players
Guinea-Bissau: No players
Ivory Coast: Hamed Traore (Bournemouth), Simon Adingra (Brighton), Amad Diallo (Man Utd), Serge Aurier, Willy Boly, Ibrahim Sangare (all Nott'm Forest), Benie Traore (Sheff Utd), Maxwell Cornet (West Ham)
Mali: Ismaila Coulibaly (Sheffield United), Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur), Boubacar Traore (Wolves)
Mauritania: No players
Morocco: Anass Zaroury (Burnley), Sofyan Amrabat (Man Utd), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham)
Mozambique: No players
Namibia: No players.
Nigeria: Ola Aina (Nott'm Forest), Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi (both Fulham), Frank Onyeka (Brentford)
Senegal: Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Idrissa Gueye (Everton) Cheikhou Kouyate, Moussa Niakhate (both Nott'm Forest), Pape Matar Sarr (Spurs) Fode Ballo-Toure (Fulham)
South Africa: Lyle Foster (Burnley)
Tanzania: No players
Tunisia: Hannibal Mejbri (Man Utd), Anis Ben Slimane (Sheff Utd)
Zambia: No players
Premier League fixtures during AFCON
Saturday 13 January 2024
12:30 Chelsea v Fulham
17:30 Newcastle v Man City
Sunday 14 January 2024
14:00 Everton v Aston Villa
16:30 Man Utd v Spurs
Monday 15 January 2024
19:45 Burnley v Luton Town
****Should either club be involved in an FA Cup replay, this match will move to 19:45 on Friday 12 January. Should either club be involved in an FA Cup replay and Burnley also be involved in the EFL Cup semi-finals, the match will be played at 12:00 on Sunday 14 January.
Saturday 20 January 2024
12:30 Arsenal v Crystal Palace
17:30 Brentford v Nott'm Forest
Sunday 21 January 2024
14:00 Sheff Utd v West Ham
16:30 AFC Bournemouth v Liverpool
Monday 22 January 2024
19:45 Brighton v Wolves
Tuesday 30 January 2024
19:30 Nott'm Forest v Arsenal
19:45 Fulham v Everton
19:45 Luton Town v Brighton
20:00 Crystal Palace v Sheff Utd
20:15 Aston Villa v Newcastle
Wednesday 31 January 2024
19:30 Man City v Burnley
19:30 Spurs v Brentford
20:15 Liverpool v Chelsea
Thursday 1 February 2024
19:30 West Ham v AFC Bournemouth
20:15 Wolves v Man Utd
Saturday 3 February 2024
AFC Bournemouth v Nott'm Forest
Arsenal v Liverpool
Brentford v Man City
Brighton v Crystal Palace
Burnley v Fulham
Chelsea v Wolves
Everton v Spurs
Man Utd v West Ham
Newcastle v Luton Town
Sheff Utd v Aston Villa
Saturday 10 February 2024
Aston Villa v Man Utd
Crystal Palace v Chelsea
Fulham v AFC Bournemouth
Liverpool v Burnley
Luton Town v Sheff Utd
Man City v Everton
Nott'm Forest v Newcastle
Spurs v Brighton
West Ham v Arsenal
Wolves v Brentford