Chris Watson
Africa-Press – Lesotho. The delayed Africa Cup of Nations is due to take place early next year and could have a significant impact on Leicester City’s season. Leicester are bidding to bounce back to the Premier League at the first attempt after their shock relegation last term.
Under new head coach Enzo Maresca, the Foxes have made an excellent start and sit top of the Championship table after 11 matches, with 10 wins and just the one defeat.
City are two points clear of second-placed Ipswich Town and, perhaps more importantly, have a 10-point lead over third-placed Preston North End. The top two teams will claim automatic promotion, with third to sixth contesting the end-of-season play-offs.
Leicester will be well aware of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, as they could potentially lose four first-team players for what promises to be a crucial period of the domestic campaign. The tournament will be played during January and February.
It was originally scheduled to be held in June and July 2023 but was moved due to concerns about the weather conditions – it would have coincided with the rainy season in the host nation, the Ivory Coast.
However, although it will now be played in 2024, the competition will still be called the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. The draw was made in Abidjan on Thursday (October 12).
Here is all you need to know about the tournament and how Leicester could be affected. . . The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations takes place (in 2024) from January 13 to February 11.
The final will be played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan. How many City games could they miss? They could miss up to six Championship fixtures, after the home game against Huddersfield Town on New Year’s Day.
They are Coventry (a), Ipswich (h), Swansea (h), Stoke (a), Watford (a) and Sheffield Wednesday (h), which takes place two days after the final. Of course, players could return to the club earlier, depending on how far they get in the tournament.
How will Leicester cope? Losing midfielder Ndidi and striker Iheanacho for potentially five weeks, with a week of training expected before the tournament, will be a big blow to City. Striker Daka, meanwhile, is yet to feature in the league under Maresca.
They will then just be left with three options for the two number eight spots in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Cesare Casadei and Dennis Praet, Up front they will only have Jamie Vardy and summer signing Tom Cannon, who is yet to make his debut as he recovers from a back injury.
Fatawu has impressed so far on the wing, though City should be well covered if he is called up by Ghana. There are five other wingers available to Maresca in Stephy Mavididi, Yunus Akgun, Kasey McAteer, Wanya Marcal and Marc Albrighton.
Draw details Ndidi and Iheanacho’s Nigeria have been drawn in a group with host Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. Daka’s Zambia will take on World Cup semi-finalists Morocco, along with DR Congo and Tanzania.
Fatawu’s Ghana are in a group with seven-time winners Egypt, Cape Verde and Mozambique. Here is the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 draw in full: Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau.
Source: leicestermercury
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