FIFA makes waves in African football

Angola head coach Patrice Beaumelle is furious at FIFA's decision to favour European clubs.

FIFA's relaxation of the rules for calling up players for AFCON, allowing European clubs to keep players until December 15, has angered many African teams.

In an interview with RMC Sport , coach Beaumelle frankly said: "FIFA only needs Africa in elections, but does not attach importance to continental tournaments like AFCON. They do not give it the recognition it deserves."

Coach Beaumelle's criticism reflects personal disappointment and has caused African public opinion to point the finger at FIFA's controversial decision.

With AFCON 2025 about to kick off on December 21, FIFA made a controversial decision to allow European clubs to retain African players until December 15, instead of releasing them from December 7 or 8 as originally planned.

This move is considered to favor European clubs (especially the Premier League), but has met with strong reactions from many African Football Confederations, who consider this disrespectful to the regional tournament.

FIFA's old rules required clubs to release players two weeks before tournaments, to give national teams enough time to prepare, including for important friendlies. However, the new decision directly violates FIFA's principles for major international tournaments, forcing African coaches like Beaumelle to "rewrite their entire preparation plans".

With Angola in the "death" group B with Egypt (7-time defending champion), South Africa and Mozambique, the 47-year-old coach expressed his deep indignation: "I scheduled two friendly matches on December 13 and 16. If we had known two or three months earlier, we would have arranged things differently. Now there is only a week left before the training camp, and clubs can keep players until December 14. This is not only disrespectful but also seriously disrupts everything."

Bryan Mbeumo could still be available when the Red Devils host Bournemouth on December 15 after FIFA's ruling.

African football confederations including Senegal, Egypt and Cameroon also expressed disappointment, saying FIFA's decision showed a lack of respect for AFCON, the continent's biggest tournament, and many participating teams had friendlies scheduled for early December.

They believe FIFA is "biased" towards the economic interests of European leagues, which pay high salaries and invest in player development, while AFCON, a tournament that attracts more than 1.5 billion global viewers in 2023, only receives contempt.

Two goals in the Chelsea - Arsenal match. Early morning of December 1, Chelsea and Arsenal drew 1-1 in a dramatic match in round 13 of the Premier League 2025/26.

Source: https://znews.vn/fifa-lam-day-song-bong-da-chau-phi-post1608491.html