The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is set to finally get underway as a host of Premier League stars leave their clubs in pursuit of international glory.
The tournament was delayed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and wet weather concerns, but is now set to start this weekend.
Mohamed Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sadio Mane are all set to take part in AFCON 2021
The 2021 AFCON was initially due to be held in June and July 2021, but has been put back to early 2022.
But how long will the competition last and which Premier League players are set to take part? talkSPORT.com has all you need to know…
Afcon 2021: Key dates
The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to take place in Cameroon from Sunday, January 9 to Sunday, February 6, 2022.
Cameroon will take on Burkina Faso in the opening fixture at the new 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, which will also host the final.
Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria are AFCON’s defending champions, having won back in 2019 after beating Mane’s Senegal 1-0 in the final.
Mahrez helped Algeria win the last AFCONgetty
Afcon 2021: TV channel and live stream
Sky Sports is the main broadcaster for the Africa Cup of Nations in the UK, having agreed a deal to show all 52 games live.
The BBC have also negotiated to show 10 games as part of their coverage that includes two quarter-finals, both semi-finals, and the final.
The Premier League will have up to 40 representatives in the competition headlined by Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
For a full list of England’s top-flight clubs that will lose players this month, talkSPORT.com has all the information here.
Mendy was Aliou Cisse’s first choice keeper for Senegal but a hand injury cut his AFCON 2019 shortGetty Images – Getty
What is the Afcon schedule?
The tournaments works in the same format as last summer’s European Championships with the 24 teams divided into six groups.
The group winners and runners-ups both then reach the round of 16, as do the four best third-placed teams.
Games will kick-off at 1pm, 4pm and 7pm UK time.
Here is the full schedule…
Group A
- 9 January: Cameroon vs Burkina Faso
- 9 January: Ethiopia vs Cape Verde
- 13 January: Cameroon vs Ethiopia
- 13 January: Cape Verde vs Burkina Faso
- 17 January: Cape Verde vs Cameroon
- 17 January: Burkina Faso vs Ethiopia
Group B
- 10 January: Senegal vs Zimbabwe
- 10 January: Guinea vs Malawi
- 14 January: Senegal vs Guinea
- 14 January: Malawi vs Zimbabwe
- 18 January: Malawi vs Senegal
- 18 January: Zimbabwe vs Guinea
Group C
- 10 January: Morocco vs Ghana
- 10 January: Comoros vs Gabon
- 14 January: Morocco vs Comoros
- 14 January: Gabon vs Ghana
- 18 January: Gabon vs Morocco
- 18 January: Ghana vs Comoros
Group D
- 11 January: Nigeria vs Egypt
- 11 January: Sudan vs Guinea-Bissau
- 15 January: Nigeria vs Sudan
- 15 January: Guinea-Bissau vs Egypt
- 19 January: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria
- 19 January: Egypt vs Sudan
Group E
- 11 January: Algeria vs Sierra Leone
- 11 January: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast
- 15 January: Ivory Coast vs Sierra Leone
- 15 January: Algeria vs Equatorial Guinea
- 19 January: Ivory Coast vs Algeria
- 19 January: Sierra Leone vs Equatorial Guinea
Group F
- 12 January: Tunisia vs Mali
- 12 January: Mauritania vs Gambia
- 16 January: Gambia vs Mali
- 16 January: Tunisia vs Mauritania
- 20 January: Gambia vs Tunisia
- 20 January: Mali vs Mauritania
Knockout schedule
The Round of 16 fixtures will take place between January 23-26.
The Quarter-final clashes will then take place three days later from January 29-30.
AFCON’s semi-finals will be held on February 2-3 with both the third-place play-off and the final on Sunday, February 6.
