18 Jan 2008African Cup of Nations 'must be played in June'

The African Cup of Nations should not be played in the middle of the European domestic season, Fifa president Sepp Blatter has claimed.

Indeed, Blatter has decreed that by 2016, the tournament, which is held every two years, must be held in June and July - as are other major tournaments such as the World Cup and European Championships.

However, this will be too late for the likes of Portsmouth, Everton and Chelsea, whose sides will be missing the likes of Kanu, Didier Drogba and Yakubu for the next few weeks.

"This is a tradition, but one should have now the courage to go into the international calendar and see if it's not possible to deal with it," Blatter, who may feel that African nations owe him after paving the way for South Africa to host the World Cup in 2010, told the BBC.

"We put a target for 2016 that by that time the international calendar must be definitely in accordance with the interests of everybody."

The Confederation of African Football (Caf), though, has insisted that the tournament will continue to be held in January as the weather in June is not ideal for football.

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