Get ready to be without Mohamed Salah, Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and more over Christmas and New Year.
Yes, the biennial Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is back.
The 2025 edition of the tournament starts in December, putting it on a collision course with the busiest time of the Premier League campaign.
Here we look at which players, teams and Gameweeks will be affected.
WHEN IS AFCON 2025?
AFCON will take place between Sunday 21 December 2025 and Sunday 18 January 2026.
That covers Gameweeks 17 to 22 in FPL:
A group stage exit could see players return as soon as Gameweek 20.
But those making it through to the knockout stages look set to miss up to five Gameweeks, even if they’re eliminated in the last 16.
Going all the way to the semi-finals means sitting out six Gameweeks, as there’s a third/fourth-place play-off to contest, too.
WHEN DO PLAYERS HAVE TO REPORT TO THEIR COUNTRIES?
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Usually, clubs must release players 14 days before a continental championship.
If that rule is enforced, it would be even more of a headache for Premier League sides. They would also lose their players for Gameweek 16 at the very least.
However, we have seen a gentlemen’s agreement between AFCON and the Premier League in recent years. That’s allowed players to depart as late as possible.
So, if a similar bargain is struck, Salah and co may be able to complete their Gameweek 16 fixtures before jetting off.
AFCON: AFFECTED PLAYERS IN FPL
There are 24 participating nations at AFCON.
It’s early days, of course (and there’ll be more transfer activity over the summer), but these players could be called up in December:
ARSENAL
ASTON VILLA
BOURNEMOUTH Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso)
BRENTFORD Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
BRIGHTON Carlos Baleba (Cameroon), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast)
BURNLEY Lyle Foster (South Africa), Manuel Benson (Angola), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia), Andreas Hountondji (Benin)
CHELSEA David Datro Fofana (Ivory Coast), Nicolas Jackson (Senegal)
C PALACE Cheick Doucoure (Mali), Chadi Riad (Morocco), Ismaila Sarr (Senegal)
EVERTON Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal)
FULHAM Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
LEEDS
LIVERPOOL Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
MAN CITY Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria), Omar Marmoush (Egypt)
MAN UTD Andre Onana (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)
NEWCASTLE
NOTTM FOREST Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast), Ola Aina (Nigeria), Taiwo Awoniyi (Nigeria), Emmanuel Dennis (Nigeria)
SUNDERLAND
TOTTENHAM Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal), Yves Bissouma (Mali)
WEST HAM Nayef Aguerd (Morocco)
WOLVES Boubacar Traore (Mali), Nasser Djiga (Burkina Faso), Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Marshall Munetsi (Zimbabwe), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe)
Some of these names, like Emmanuel Dennis, Tawanda Chirewa and David Datro Fofana, are peripheral at their clubs anyway.
WHAT FIXTURES WILL THOSE AT AFCON MISS?
Salah will miss home clashes with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and potentially Burnley while AFCON is on.
He has meetings with Sunderland and Leeds (again) before the tournament starts in Gameweeks 14 and 15, so FPL managers may very well want him for those, price dependent.
Who knows where Mbeumo and Wissa will be playing next season. Brentford have a very decent run from Gameweeks 17-21, so whoever is leading the attack for the Bees – perhaps Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade – could deliver some returns regardless.
Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush won’t get to face West Ham United or Sunderland in Gameweeks 17 and 19. Otherwise, it’s a mixed bag of fixtures they’re missing.
MISSING OUT ALTOGETHER
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Finally, you may have noticed a lack of mention for some high-profile African players in this article.
That’s because their nations didn’t even make it to AFCON 2025.
Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and, most surprisingly of all, Ghana were among the countries that didn’t progress through qualification.
Yankuba Minteh, Beto, Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus, amongst others, get to stay with their clubs, then.