Opinion: Jamie Carragher is right; AFCON must make this change to become a “major” tournament
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Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher's flippant reference to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as not a "major tournament" touched at the root of the fundamental paradox in African football, and the wrath of many African supporters is justified.
But setting aside sentiments, the Englishman's comments expose a hard reality: although the Africa Cup of Nations has great cultural worth and national pride, its global impact and commercial value have long stagnated.
The fundamental problem is not the calibre of the event but rather its uncompromising dedication to being hosted annually between January and February in the middle of the European league season. This configuration not only compromises the Africa Cup of Nations' competitive worth but also puts African football out of sync with relation to international football.
Should it wish to be free from the "small tournament" moniker, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has to make a critical decision: shifting the event totally to the summer break of the top European leagues.
Holding matches during the season: A clash with global football
The scheduling conflict of the Africa Cup of Nations peaked in 2023 when the said Egyptian sensation Salah had to leave Liverpool during a pivotal phase of the club's title race, leading to the Reds winning only one of their five matches in February.
Every two years, top performers such as Mané, Osimhen, and Achraf are driven into a conflict between their clubs and national teams that culminated in Napoli president De Laurentiis pledging to avoid recruiting Africans.
The new Champions League extended format, which now holds matches in January, will make this issue even more intense in the 2025 edition, as the Africa Cup of Nations will take place in the same period.
With their UCL status still under flux, European powerhouses may therefore lose some important players, hence aggravating their "rejection attitude" against African players.
"Why can't a club establish a super team solely out of African players?" one Twitter user queried. Even though any powerhouse in world football will be steamrolled by a team of En-Nesyri, Lookman, Salah, Marmoush, Baleba, Ola Aina, etc., with clubs having to deal with a "squad earthquake" every two years, who dares to take that risk?
Though Real Madrid can quickly assemble an Avengers-level team of the most famous players from Europe, trying this with African players will be suicide. This issue has a direct bearing on the career ceiling of African players'.
Consider Salah as one of the examples. He has never ranked among the top three of the Ballon d'Or even though he has thrice won the Premier League Golden Boot and guided Liverpool to two Champions League finals.
On the other hand, this is a very achievable feat for Ballon d'Or winners like Modrić and Benzema, whose success derived mostly from their combined Champions League and World Cup/European Championship accomplishments.
The dilemma of commercial value: the "time zone conflict" between broadcasters and sponsors
The fundamental commercial worth of any sporting event is in the attention economy. Still, the Africa Cup of Nations falls precisely in the same window as the top five European leagues, the UEFA Champions League knockout round, and the FIFA Club World Cup. Whereas the 2024 EUROS managed 100 million views every game, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations averaged 30 million views per match globally.
This discrepancy is not accidental; European broadcasters typically set up prime time for domestic leagues, hence the Africa Cup of Nations becomes "leftovers." Even more embarrassing is that the sponsorship revenue for the Africa Cup of Nations has regularly been below $100 million ($73 million in the 2023 edition), just one-seventh of that of the European Championship ($535 million). Should the competition be scheduled for June and July, the Africa Cup of Nations will rule the summer football void.
The 2022 Qatar World Cup already shows that, should the goal be not to directly compete with popular leagues, mid-season events can potentially draw an audience.
Should the Africa Cup evade the European season, it would not only attract additional international broadcasting agreements but also offer special marketing chances for world sponsors such as Nike and Pepsi.
Furthermore, summer activities are more fit for local African supporters, and many African immigrants working in Europe can go back home over the holidays to see the games, thereby boosting the local economy.
Climate and infrastructure: The failure of traditional excuses
Those who oppose shifting the calendar sometimes point to "the scorching summer in North Africa and the rainy winter in South Africa" as justification since January to February is the only window that works.
Modern football technology has long solved the climate issue, such as the 2026 World Cup, which will span three climate zones, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the 2022 World Cup, which was held in air-conditioned stadiums in Qatar.
The African Football Confederation could either decide on the costly path of totally mandating the host nation to create climate-controlled venues during the bidding process or rely on the more affordable experience of the Australian Asian Cup to distribute the events over cities in various climate zones.
The deeper paradox is African football's self-positioning. While the AFC Asian Cup and the AFC Champions League are also progressively matching with the European calendar, the South American Football Confederation has gone so far as to change its century-old customary schedule to synchronise the Copa América with the UEFA European Championship.
Should the Africa Cup of Nations keep following its "isolated schedule," it would be wilfully marginalising itself. The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations proves this point, as due to a conflict with the first 32-team Club World Cup, it has actually been rescheduled to December, the middle of Premier League festive events, which precisely shows the unsustainability of the old format.
Conclusion: Move AFCON to the June/July off-season to make it a major tournament
Unquestionably, the Africa Cup of Nations has great promise; it boasts the most enthusiastic supporters worldwide, the most distinctive cultural appeal, and an ongoing flow of footballing talent. But if it really wants to be regarded as a "world-class event," CAF has to face a reality: European leagues dominate in the present football scene, and the prosperity of African football is inseparable from thorough integration into this system.
Though moving the tournament to the summer may need overcoming temporary logistical obstacles (such as organising with World Cup qualifications), in the long run this is the best way to remove prejudices, release commercial potential, and increase competitive voice.
Despite being direct and possibly poorly worded, Carragher's comments act as a wake-up call for African football.
Sound the alert: the globe will only be able to fully appreciate the Africa Cup of Nations if it aggressively welcomes transformation. Otherwise, it will stay caught in the "important yet secondary" gap and become a lonely emblem on the international football calendar.