Africa has Nations Cup back where it belongs... and Klopp asked for it

An entertaining reaction can be expected now the Africa Cup of nations will be reverting to its previous place in the calendar from 2021.

Quick capsule take: no Sadio Mane or Mo Salah for Liverpool across as much as six weeks next season. Cue fury.

Yet in a way Jurgen Klopp (below) asked for this. At the Club World Cup before Christmas, he wanted to know how FIFA were going to balance their revamped, expanded club competition in two summers’ time with international tournaments involving nations in Europe, Africa and Central and north America.

now he has the answer. UEFA’s nations League will start a little earlier, COnCACAF’s Gold Cup might start a fraction later — and the Africa Cup of nations will be played in the heart of the European winter, from January 9 to February 6. As it always should have been.

The scandal was moving it to Europe’s summer in 2019. Had it remained in this slot, much of the continent would never have been able to host. The rainy season in east Africa is April to June, in west Africa April to July and on the horn of Africa June to October.

Only the north and south of the continent escape downpours in the part of the year Europe calls summer. So, while FIFA’s invasion of the close season may be the most pressing reason for the shift, the official and very reasonable explanation is that the 2021 hosts, Cameroon, cannot possibly hold an event in June and July.

We think it rains where we are. It doesn’t. not like there.

In Douala, one of the tournament’s major venues with the 50,000 capacity Japoma Stadium, the average monthly rainfall for June and July is 14 inches and then 26.8 inches. It rains 50 of 61 days across those months.

To put this into perspective, the widespread flooding in England and Wales last year was caused by roughly 3.3 inches of rain over 36 hours. In January and February, Douala receives 1.4 to 2.2 inches of rain. That is manageable. The summer monsoons are not.

Yet Africa shifted its tournament — which pre- dates the European Championship by three years — because its players were coming under increased pressure from their clubs. nations were losing them to early retirements or conveniently timed injuries.

THEY were missing pretournament camps. The clubs think money buys football’s soul. They think wages trump all, so that Marvelous nakamba owes more to a year at Aston Villa than he does to Zimbabwe.

‘In Europe, we play in rain,’ sniffed Avram Grant when confronted with losing a handful of players at Chelsea in 2008.

It is this patronising attitude, and absence of understanding, that forced the

African continent into an unsuitable change. It now appears to have been a temporary one. Egypt in 2019 will be an exception, not the new normal, and thank heavens for that. The summer months in north Africa bring further complications. not rain: sun. Egypt is a hot country and July is its hottest month. The 2019 edition began controversially with Uganda’s goalkeeper Denis Onyango taken off on a stretcher suffering from heat exhaustion, and the intensity of the competition suffered. In the part of the competition with three starting times, the games that kicked off mid-afternoon had an average of 1.14 goals. Early evening fixtures averaged 1.64, rising to 2.46 for those that began at 9pm. Yet why should Africa’s competition suffer like this? The European clubs may think they own the continent now but

in 1957, when the africa cup of nations began, africa did not even get a guaranteed entrant at the World cup finals.

the first certain african World cup place became reality in 1970 — earned by Morocco — by which time there had been seven champions of africa.

so who stood up for the continent in the years when even fifa did not want to know? the major clubs of europe? hardly.

in Qatar in 2022, a confederation with 54 competing members will receive just five places.

so take the africa cup of nations away and the continent with the most fifa members would spend the best part of every four years waiting for countries that could be counted on one hand to play a tournament of import. Yet apparently they owe us.

if anything has broadened the influence of african football and african footballers, it’s the africa cup of nations. it gave players from the region a target, brought the scouts from the most affluent clubs and leagues, raised standards and helped deliver some of the greatest footballers of recent decades. now it is back where and when it belongs.

so, watch the bleating start.