January 16- European clubs look set to count the cost of losing vital players to the 30th African Nations Cup that starts tomorrow.
Figures released by the European Club Association shows that two thirds of the players involved come from European clubs.
There has long been concern over the timing of Africa’s most prestigious competition which, unlike the World Cup and European Championship finals, takes place right in the middle of the European season, robbing clubs of well-paid players for the best part of a month.
The counter-argument, of course, is that owners and chairman should plan ahead and take the tournament into account when buying up the cream of African football.
Some of the key ECA stats are as follows:
170 European clubs from 33 different UEFA Member Associations are involved in the release of players (including 63 ECA member clubs)66.9 percent of the Africa Cup of Nations players (246 players from a total of 368) currently play in one of the European national championshipsAll 23 players of the national team of Senegal play in EuropeBordeaux and Lyon are the two European clubs releasing most players71 Africa Cup of Nations Players are registered with 33 clubs in France.