African club football Powerhouse Al Ahly are not satisfied with the date recently released for the 2021 FIFA Club Worldcup as it incidentally clashes with the African cup of Nations which begins on January 9th in Cameroon, www.owosports.com.ng reports.
The CAF Champions league winners who will represent the continent of Africa in next year’s FIFA Club Worldcup in UAE have announced that they will write to three football bodies to express their dissatisfaction, which are The Egyptian Football Association (EFA), Confederation of African Football (CAF) and International Football Association (IFA).
The African cup of Nations will run through January 9th – the 6th of February 2022, while the FIFA Club Worldcup has been scheduled to run through February 3rd – 12th 2022 a date which isn’t okay with the Egyptian side who has at least seven to nine of their regulars in the Egyptian national team while three more stars in Ali Maaloul (Tunisia), Aliou Diang (Mali) and Badr Banon (Morocco) are likely to be with their respective national teams.
This means Al Ahly may go to the FIFA Club World Cup without 12 of their star players due to the clash of dates with the AFCON tournament.
However the club in it’s statement released has decided to write to three football bodies to express their dissatisfaction and hope that an adjustment is being done by FIFA, “Al-Ahly club decided to send letters to the Egyptian Football Association, the Confederation of African Football, and the International Football Association, to raise the damage caused to the football team due to a conflict of dates between the Club World Cup, which will be held during the period between February 3-12, and the African Nations Championship. It will be held from January 9 to February 6.
“In its letters sent tomorrow, the club will request the necessity of solving this crisis, in a manner that does not conflict with the interest of the national team and the interest of Al-Ahly, the representative of Egypt and Africa in that world championship.
“The national team includes between 7-9 players from Al-Ahly, in addition to the presence of a number of its professional players in the ranks of their national teams, such as Ali Maaloul, Aliou Diang and Badr Banon, which will affect the team because of the participation of these players with their national teams in the African Nations Cup”, The club statement reads.
Al Ahly will take on Mexican side FC Monterrey in the second round of the Club World Cup, and should they win, they will face ES Palmeiras of Brazil in the semi-finals.
