FIFA only needs Africa during elections; it doesn’t value the AFCON – Angola coach Patrice Beaumelle

Angola head coach Patrice Beaumelle has openly criticised FIFA after the football governing body announced that clubs will only be required to release African players seven days before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

The decision has sparked widespread anger across the continent, as it directly contradicts FIFA’s own 14-day compulsory release rule for major international tournaments.

“FIFA only needs Africa during elections, but it doesn’t value our competitions like AFCON or give them the recognition they deserve,” Beaumelle said.

The ruling, confirmed by the Bureau of the FIFA Council on Wednesday, applies exclusively to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off in Morocco on 21 December. Under the new directive, clubs are now only obliged to release players from 15 December, barely six days before their national teams’ opening fixtures.

FIFA defended the shortened release window by citing a similar approach used for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

However, African officials and coaches argue that the move highlights a persistent pattern of unequal treatment, undermines the prestige of AFCON, and places African national teams at a competitive disadvantage on the global stage.