“Always in January we have these problems with AFCON with the clubs and the players,” said former Palace midfielder Guedioura – who won the tournament with Algeria in Egypt in summer 2019. “AFCON should be organised in June or July like any other big international competition.
“It’s not a question of respect for Africa, it’s not a matter of letting the player go. It’s a matter of timing.
“If you do AFCON in June or July, there will be no problem because nobody is playing, first of all. Second of all, in summer it means everyone is following it. I remember the one in Egypt, everyone was watching it because there was no other competition.
“It’s summer, you can have family around watching the games. In January you can’t, because you are working. So it’s not the same.”
Guedioura believes that a summer tournament would be of most benefit to the players themselves, too.
“It’s always been a problem not for the clubs, but for the players,” he explained. “The players are always in between club and country. You will never say no – I will never say no to my country because it is my country. It’s not even a duty; I want to go.
“But the problem is: when you go, you might come back injured. Let’s say you’re not injured, you’re going to miss games and the team may do well, so you come back and you’re not going to play.
“So for the players first, which are the most important actors in this competition, it’s a problem. It doesn’t come from not respecting Africa. You have to respect the timing.
“Even if it’s hot. We played in Egypt during the summer, which is 35 degrees. It was difficult, I won’t say it was not difficult. But if you play in January in Cameroon like this one, it is 80% humidity and 30 degrees – it’s the same.