FIFA confirm official release date for players competing at AFCON including two Manchester City stars | OneFootball

FIFA have confirmed the date for when players taking part in the upcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) need to be released to their national teams ahead of the tournament.

The competition takes place in Morocco for the first time in 37 years from December 21 to January 18, with multiple Premier League sides expected to endure scarce absences with many of their most trusted players leaving for international duty. 

In Manchester City’s case, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush will be the players heading to AFCON, joining up with former Etihad Stadium star Riyad Mahrez and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah for Algeria and Egypt respectively. 

For the Pharaohs, they lifted the title in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, and most recently 2010, and under Hossam Hassan’s side have qualified without defeat after topping Group C ahead of Botswana, Mauritania and Cape Verde.

As for Algeria, their first participation was in 1968, winning the competition in 1990 as hosts, and 2019 in Egypt. Algeria also finished second in the 1980 edition, and third in the 1984 and 1988 editions.

Ahead of the latest edition of the coveted tournament, with the opening game being played between hosts Morocco and Comoros in Rabat, the release date for when players must depart for the competition has been revealed as December 15.

Premier League clubs facing the biggest blows are Sunderland – who are expected to miss seven players and arguably five first-team starters – while Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace are due to miss four players. 

Pep Guardiola’s side only losing two of their players provides a fruitful contrast to bitter rivals Manchester United, who will be without three important assets in Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui, and Amad Diallo. 

Still, the absence of Marmoush in particular will apply additional strain on the attacking depth that has left Pep Guardiola’s options strained this season, with Erling Haaland the only player to be capable of playing up-front aside from the Egyptian attacker.

Since his £59 million move from Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in January, Marmoush has impressed in England despite not featuring much in the 2025/26 season due to a knee injury he picked up against Burkina Faso in October. 

The 26-year-old has scored nine goals in 37 total appearances for the Citizens with most of those coming off the bench, and his best contribution coming against Bournemouth at the tail-end of the last campaign which eventually won Premier League Goal of the Season. 

Marmoush was wanted early by the Egypt national team for a training camp which has so far seen them face Kuwait, before further fixtures against the UAE and Jordan provide advantageous practice ahead of AFCON.

They will also clash with Nigeria in a friendly seven days before the competition begins. But it was understood City only wanted to release Marmoush for the tournament itself given they face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on December 14 before the attacker is absent for up to 10 matches.