Pablo Longoria, president of the French outfit, Marseille has called on the French Football Federation, FFF, and LFP to consider the temporary suspension of Ligue 1 during AFCON by which most African players who are key members of a team depart for international duties.
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The 2024 AFCON ( Africa Cup Of Nations) will take place in Ivory Coast by January after it was delayed this summer due to the heavy rain, the competition will once again bring a lot of scrutiny on players deciding whether or not to play for their country.
Missing out on several weeks of club matches if they choose to appear at AFCON, much to the disadvantage of the clubs while their salaries are been paid by the club while in action for their respective nations.
During a recent press conference, Pablo Longoria shared his opinion on what the French Football Association should consider.
“We must manage with AFCON. When making signings, we have to take it into account but this must not stop us.”
“We cannot base our recruitment strategy on one month. With Ligue 1, we need to think about stopping the league competition during AFCON”, explained the president.
Marseille have recruited Geoffrey Kondogbia (Central African Republic), Pierre-Aymeric Aubameyang (Gabon) as well as Ismaila Sarr and Ilaman Ndaiaye, both of Senegalese nationality, joining their international teammate Pape Gueye, already at the club.
Meanwhile, Chancel Mbemba (Democratic Republic of Congo), Amine Harit, and Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco) are also playing for Marseille and they could all represent their various countries in winter, making up a potential 7 starters’ departure when the competition begins.
There have been many examples in the past of conflicts between clubs and African nations. Andy Delort signed for Nice while stating he wouldn’t play for Algeria at AFCON, which angered national team coach Djamel Belmadi.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has been particularly vocal against African players because of the midseason competition.
