A total of 49 Premier League players may miss part of the season due to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Manchester United's new signing Bryan Mbuemo are among the prominent Premier League players expected to participate in the tournament.
Held every two years, AFCON often creates selection challenges for clubs during winter fixtures as star players become temporarily unavailable.
The upcoming tournament, hosted in Morocco, will span four weeks from Sunday, 21 December 2025, to Sunday, 18 January 2026.
While 54 African players are currently in the Premier League, some like Tottenham's Mohammed Kudus and Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo will not participate as their countries, Ghana and Guinea-Bissau, did not qualify.
During this period, six rounds of Premier League matches are scheduled, along with the third round of the FA Cup and the semi-final first legs of the EFL Cup, potentially resulting in eight matches that some players may miss.
Which players could be selected?
In addition to Salah and Mbuemo, several other key players might be called up for AFCON. Egypt may also select Salah's teammate Omar Marmoush from Manchester City, while Brentford's Yoane Wissa could play for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Chelsea's striker Nicolas Jackson, along with Everton's midfielders Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye, could represent Senegal. Manchester United's goalkeeper Andre Onana might be called up by Cameroon, while Tottenham's midfielders Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr could play for Mali and Senegal, respectively.
Which clubs are affected the most?
Sunderland has seven players from African nations who could be called up for AFCON. Nottingham Forest, facing additional European commitments, has six potential participants. Brighton is unique in having multiple African players whose countries did not qualify for AFCON. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Leeds, and Newcastle currently do not have any African players in their squads.
Which nations are best represented?
Among the 24 nations at AFCON, 15 have at least one player in the Premier League. Ivory Coast and Senegal are the most represented, each with eight players in the league. Nigeria follows with seven, while the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and Morocco each have four. Burkina Faso, South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria, and Mozambique have one player each in the Premier League.
Full list of Premier League players who could feature at AFCON
Bournemouth : Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Hamed Traore (Ivory Coast)
Arsenal : No African players in the current first-team squad
Aston Villa : No African players in the current first-team squad
Brentford : Yoane Wissa (Democratic Republic of Congo), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)
Brighton : Carlos Baleba (Cameroon), Abdallah Sima (Senegal), Malick Yalcouye (Ivory Coast)
Burnley : Axel Tuanzebe (Democratic Republic of Congo), Manuel Benson (Angola), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)
Chelsea : Nicolas Jackson (Senegal)
Crystal Palace : Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Cheick Doucoure (Mali), Chadi Riad (Morocco)
Everton : Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal)
Fulham : Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
Leeds : No African players in the current 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 : No African players in the current first-team squad
Nottingham Forest : Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast), Taiwo Awoniyi (Nigeria), Emmanuel Dennis (Nigeria), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ola Aina (Nigeria), David Carmo (Angola)
Sunderland : Blondy Nna Noukeu (Cameroon), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Ahmed Abdullahi (Nigeria), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Noah Sadiki (Democratic Republic of Congo), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast)
Tottenham : Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
West Ham : El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal), Maxwel Cornet (Ivory Coast), Nayef Aguerd (Morocco), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Wolves : Marshall Munetsi (Zimbabwe), Boubacar Traore (Mali), Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Tawnda Chirewa (Zimbabwe)
African players whose countries have not qualified for AFCON : Antoine Semenyo (Ghana and Bournemouth), Tariq Lamptey (Ghana and Brighton), Yankuba Minteh (Gambia and Brighton), Beto (Guinea-Bissau and Everton), Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and Tottenham)
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