Earlier this summer qualification for the biennial Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was completed, with 24 nations booking their place in the tournament which takes place in Morocco at the end of 2025.
One of the knock-on effects of FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup competition this year is a tweak to AFCON’s usual start date, with the tournament now being played over the Christmas and New Year period, with the first game taking place on December 21 and the final being played on January 18, 2026.
European managers are used to having to make do without their African stars in January, but the addition of two Champions League rounds at the end of January could mean some teams feel the bite more than others. FourFourTwo takes a look at all the Premier League players who could be missing during AFCON.
Which African players will NOT be heading to AFCON?
First up, we’ll start with some of the African players who won’t be heading home this Christmas, as their nations did not qualify.
Ghana’s failure to qualify for the first time since 2004 means Bournemouth will not be missing Antoine Semenyo, while Tottenham’s Mohammed Kudus will also be available for Spurs. Brighton will be able to call on Yankuba Minteh after Gambia failed to make it, while Everton forward Beto will not be there with Guinea-Bissau.
Premier League players set to play at AFCON 2025
Arsenal: No African players in first-team squad
Aston Villa: Evann Guessand (Ivory Coast)
Bournemouth: Amine Adli (Morocco)
Brentford: Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria),
Brighton: Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)
Burnley: Axel Tuanzebe (Democratic Republic of Congo), Manuel Benson (Angola), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)
Chelsea: No African players in first-team squad
Crystal Palace: Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Christantus Uche (Nigeria), Cheick Doucoure (Mali), Chadi Riad (Morocco)
Everton: Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal)
Fulham: Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria)
Leeds United: No African players in first-team squad
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Manchester City: Omar Marmoush (Egypt), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria)
Manchester United: Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Andre Onana (Cameroon), Bryan Mbuemo (Cameroon)
Newcastle United: Yoane Wissa (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Nottingham Forest: Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast), Taiwo Awoniyi (Nigeria), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ola Aina (Nigeria)
Sunderland: Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Blondy Nna Noukeu (Cameroon), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Arthur Masuaku (Democratic Republic of Congo), Noah Sadiki (Democratic Republic of Congo), Ahmed Abdullahi (Nigeria), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)
Tottenham: Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
West Ham: El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Wolves: Marshall Munetsi (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Tolu Arokodare (Nigeria), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe), Jackson Tchatchoua (Cameroon)
Which clubs will be affected the most?
Newly-promoted Sunderland could see as many as nine players head to AFCON, while Wolves may be missing five of their squad members, which could be a key factor in this year’s relegation battle.
Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest may both be four players down as they look to add European football to their Premier League schedule this time out.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds United are the only teams that do not have an African player in their squad.
In terms of high-profile individual players, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is set to feature for Egypt, while Manchester City could be without January arrival Omar Marmoush and summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri
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