AFCON 2021: CAF Confirm Squad Increase From 23 To 28 Players

CAF have confirmed that teams, including Ghana, playing at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament will be allowed to increase the size of their squad from 23 to 28 players.

The rule change is being brought in to mitigate the risks of teams facing a shortage of available players for certain matches due to possible Covid-19 cases.

This was contained a letter signed by Samson Adamu, Director of Competitions and sent to Member Associations on Sunday, October 24, 2021.

"In the occasion of the upcoming final tournament of the TOTALENERGIES Africa Cup of Nations - Cameroon 2021, we would like to provide you with the following decision:

    1. Number of additional players - The Organizing Committee of the Africa Cup of Nations has decided to increase the number of players to 5 additional players. Consequently, the list of players could be increased to a maximum of 28 players. This decision was taken to allow the participating teams have a larger squad list for the competition in case some players test positive for COVID 19.
    2. On the other hand, please note that your federation will bear the cost of the international travel as well as the accommodation of these additional players on the final list. In view of the above, we would like to inform you that the registration of the 5 additional players is only an option and not an obligation.
    3. Number of substitute players: Concerning the number of substitutions, CAF will apply the law of three substitutions per match (+ 1 additional substitution in case of extra time) during the final tournament of the Africa Cup of Nations’’ the statement read.

The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon- 2021 will be staged from Sunday, January 9 to Sunday, February 6, 2022.

Ghana find themselves in a tricky group containing Morocco, Gabon and Comoros.

The Black Stars will play Morocco first on January 10 before Gabon and debutants respectively.