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Every Premier League Player at 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will see 24 countries from across the continent competing for glory over a month-long tournament in Morocco.
An array of Premier League stars will be among those headlining the latest fight for Africa’s greatest prize—from December 21 to January 18—with 32 players from 14 different clubs in England’s top tier representing their country in the hunt for major international silverware.
Some Premier League teams will be affected more than others, but all absentees will be sorely missed during the hectic winter period in which the schedule is simply relentless.
Here is every single Premier League player going to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
All Premier League Players Competing at 2025 AFCON
Arsenal are one of six fortunate clubs unaffected by AFCON. Their charge for the Premier League title won’t be rocked by absences from the end of December into the first half of January, while Aston Villa, who are only just behind the Gunners after a phenomenal spell, also have nobody heading to Morocco for the tournament.
Chelsea’s deep squad will not be thinned, with Bournemouth, Leeds United and Newcastle United all untouched by the tournament.
Sunderland are the side most impacted by AFCON, with a whopping six players travelling to North Africa. That’s double the number of the next worst affected Premier League sides as Régis Le Bris is forced to cope without the likes of Noah Sadiki, Bertrand Traoré and Reinildo.
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Manchester United, along with Fulham and Burnley, have three African stars looking to light up the tournament. Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo will leave a gaping hole down their right-hand side, while the versatile Noussair Mazraoui will be missed.
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City both have two departees, but the former won’t miss Yves Bissouma—the Mali international having been exiled in north London. Pape Matar Sarr will leave Spurs light in midfield, however, while the absence of Algeria’s Rayan Aït-Nouri and Egypt’s Omar Marmoush will deplete Manchester City’s resources on the left flank.
Liverpool have just the one absentee, but it’s a big one. Mohamed Salah, who has recently been reintegrated into the team after his public outburst, will be missing for the Reds and is expected to go deep into the tournament with Egypt.
Club | Players Competing at AFCON |
|---|---|
Arsenal | — |
Aston Villa | — |
Bournemouth | — |
Brentford | Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria) |
Brighton & Hove Albion | Carlos Baleba (Cameroon) |
Burnley | Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia) |
Chelsea | — |
Crystal Palace | Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal) |
Everton | Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal) |
Fulham | Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria) |
Leeds United | — |
Liverpool | Mohamed Salah (Egypt) |
Manchester City | Rayan Aït-Nouri (Algeria), Omar Marmoush (Egypt) |
Manchester United | Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) |
Newcastle United | — |
Nottingham Forest | Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast) |
Sunderland | Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Arthur Masuaka (DR Congo), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal) |
Tottenham Hotspur | Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal) |
West Ham United | Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo), El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal) |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe) |
Notable Premier League Absentees From 2025 AFCON
Things could have been even more challenging for Premier League sides. A long-term injury to Yoane Wissa means he’s not been deemed fit enough to feature in the DR Congo squad and will instead get up to match speed with Newcastle over the winter.
The Magpies’ local rivals Sunderland could have had a seventh player jetting off to AFCON, but Simon Adingra was omitted from the Ivory Coast travelling party.
Nigeria have snubbed Nottingham Forest right back Ola Aina and Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Tolu Arokodare, the former due to injury. Ghana’s surprise failure to qualify means Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo and Tottenham forward Mohammed Kudus won’t be competing.
Gambia were also unable to make it, meaning Yankuba Minteh is available for Brighton & Hove Albion.
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Ewan Ross-Murray is a Sports Illustrated Soccer freelance writer who focuses primarily on the Premier League. Ewan was born in Leicester, but his heart, and club allegiance, belongs to Liverpool.