AFCON 2025: Manchester City disrupts Algerias preparation plans

Algerias build up to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations faces significant disruption after Manchester City asked the Algerian Football Federation to delay Rayan Aït Nouris release until 17 December.

The request, reported by The Athletic, challenges the national teams planned schedule and places coach Vladimir Petkovic in a difficult position.

Manchester City cites an intense run of fixtures, five matches in fifteen days, as the reason for keeping the defender longer than expected.

The request directly clashes with Petkovics plan for an intensive training camp scheduled to begin on 15 December, a crucial period he designed to assemble his full squad, strengthen cohesion, and finalise tactical structures.

FIFAs regulations, however, leave little room for interpretation. Nations qualified for AFCON have the right to call up their players thirteen days before the competition begins.

Despite the rule, several European clubs continue to exert pressure in an attempt to retain key players beyond this mandatory release date.

Bayer Leverkusen has already made a similar request for Maza, signalling a pattern that threatens to undermine Algerias preparation.

Petkovic now faces an uncomfortable dilemma. He must either accept the constraints imposed by European clubs and begin his preparation with an incomplete group, or enter a confrontation that risks affecting relations with the players employers.

For a coach preparing for his first major tournament with Algeria, the stakes could not be higher.

The situation raises broader concerns within Algerian football circles about whether repeated interference from European clubs will compromise the Greens readiness ahead of a competition they believe they can challenge for.