Africa Cup of Nations switches back to January for 2021 editions

CAF has decided to move the Africa Cup of Nations back to January for the 2021 edition of the tournament, which is to be held in Cameroon.

The 2019 tournament – hosted by Egypt and won by Algeria – was held in July, as CAF elected to move the tournament to fit in line with the northern hemisphere summer, meaning clubs in Europe's major leagues were unaffected.

However, sweltering conditions in Egypt led to the decision to switch to tournament to June and July being questioned.

Now, it has been confirmed by hosts Cameroon that the 2021 AFCON shall take place in January and February due to concerns over the weather should the tournament have taken place later in the year.

La #TOTALAFCON2021 se jouera au #Cameroun du 9 janvier au 6 février 2021. Date modifiée pour des raisons météorologiques à la demande du Cameroun. @CAF_Online @AAhmad_CAF pic.twitter.com/AUGAE3nh8P

— Fecafoot-Officiel (@FecafootOfficie) January 15, 2020

"The AFCON 2021 will be played in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6, 2021," a post on Cameroon's football federation's official Twitter account read.

"Dates [have been] changed for meteorological reasons at the request of Cameroon."

Cameroon was initially scheduled to host last year's tournament, but was stripped of it in November 2018 due to inadequate infrastructure.