The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has turned down a request from Al Ahly asking for the date of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament to be tweaked.
Ahly will in February participate in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup competition after winning the CAF Champions League trophy.
With a number of the club’s players set to be away with the Egypt national team and other national teams, there is concern that Ahly will not be strong enough for the club world cup.
It is in this light that Al Ahly wrote to CAF seeking for a possible tweak of the 2021 Calendar.
Despite the concerns raised, sources have told footballghana.com that the request from Ahly has been rejected by CAF.
Bent on staging the 2021 AFCON as planned, CAF has also hit back at ECA over threats that clubs in Europe will not be willing to release players for their respective African countries.
Not giving in amidst the pressure, CAF insists that the 2021 AFCON will start on January 9, 2022, and end on February 6, 2022.