Outfield Players in Goal at AFCON?
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The Africa Cup of Nations is one of the major international football tournaments in world football. It ranks alongside the European Championship and is only second to the World Cup for African nations.
There have been many legendary players over the years to play in the Africa Cup of Nations, including George Weah, Roger Milla, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Abedi Pele, Michael Essien, Jay-Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, and Yaya Toure to name but a few.
Fast forward to the 2021 competition and we are spoilt in terms of individual talent, with Achraf Hakimi, Abdou Diallo, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Mohamed Salah, Edmond Tapsoba, André Onana, Moses Simon, Riyad Mahrez, Sébastien Haller, and Sadio Mané.
What is interesting about the list of players above is only one of them is a goalkeeper. Of course, each nation will have a selection of goalkeepers from which to choose throughout the tournament but what about seeing Riyad Mahrez playing in goal for Algeria or Mohamed Salah wearing the gloves for Egypt?
It seems farfetched but thanks to the new rules introduced ahead of the 2021 AFCON, that is exactly what could happen. The competition rules state a team only needs 11 available players to fulfil the fixture, regardless of whether that number includes a goalkeeper.
In other words, if a country has 11 fit players and they are all outfield players, the game will go ahead as normal and an outfield player will have to play as a goalkeeper.
This rule has been introduced as a way to prevent matches from being cancelled. With COVID-19 causing disruption to football clubs around the world, it is only natural we are going to see some players forced to isolate during the Africa Cup of Nations.
However, never before has a football tournament come out and said an outfield player will have to play as a goalkeeper if required. In the latter stages of the competition, is a team really going to play what could be one of the biggest games in their history with an outfield player in goal? It seems crazy but would make for great entertainment for neutral football fans.
Another issue with playing a match with only 11 players is substitutions. What happens if a player is injured and cannot continue? A team will be down to 10 men for the remainder of the match and at a huge disadvantage through no fault of their own.
CAF have confirmed that five substitutions will be permitted per match in three different windows but this is no use if there are no players available to come on the pitch.
If a team cannot field 11 players, there will be no rearranged fixture and the nation who failed to fulfil the fixture will be handed a 2-0 defeat.
So, could we be about to see a tournament where outfield players are forced to play in goal and goalkeepers are participating as outfield players to get games played? The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is going to be an interesting tournament.
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