AFCON 2022 date: Schedule, kick-off times, TV channel and Prem players

The tournament was delayed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and wet weather concerns, but is now set to start this weekend.

The 2021 AFCON was initially due to be held in June and July 2021, but has been put back to early 2022.

But how long will the competition last and which Premier League players are set to take part? talkSPORT.com has all you need to know…

Afcon 2021: Key dates

The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to take place in Cameroon from Sunday, January 9 to Sunday, February 6, 2022.

Cameroon will take on Burkina Faso in the opening fixture at the new 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, which will also host the final.

Riyad Mahrez's Algeria are AFCON's defending champions, having won back in 2019 after beating Mane's Senegal 1-0 in the final.

Afcon 2021: TV channel and live stream

Sky Sports is the main broadcaster for the Africa Cup of Nations in the UK, having agreed a deal to show all 52 games live.

The BBC have also negotiated to show 10 games as part of their coverage that includes two quarter-finals, both semi-finals, and the final.

The Premier League will have up to 40 representatives in the competition headlined by Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

For a full list of England's top-flight clubs that will lose players this month, talkSPORT.com has all the information here.

What is the Afcon schedule?

The tournaments works in the same format as last summer's European Championships with the 24 teams divided into six groups.

The group winners and runners-ups both then reach the round of 16, as do the four best third-placed teams.

Games will kick-off at 1pm, 4pm and 7pm UK time.

Here is the full schedule…

Group A

9 January: Cameroon vs Burkina Faso

9 January: Ethiopia vs Cape Verde

13 January: Cameroon vs Ethiopia

13 January: Cape Verde vs Burkina Faso

17 January: Cape Verde vs Cameroon

17 January: Burkina Faso vs Ethiopia

Group B

10 January: Senegal vs Zimbabwe

10 January: Guinea vs Malawi

14 January: Senegal vs Guinea

14 January: Malawi vs Zimbabwe

18 January: Malawi vs Senegal

18 January: Zimbabwe vs Guinea

Group C

10 January: Morocco vs Ghana

10 January: Comoros vs Gabon

14 January: Morocco vs Comoros

14 January: Gabon vs Ghana

18 January: Gabon vs Morocco

18 January: Ghana vs Comoros

Group D

11 January: Nigeria vs Egypt

11 January: Sudan vs Guinea-Bissau

15 January: Nigeria vs Sudan

15 January: Guinea-Bissau vs Egypt

19 January: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria

19 January: Egypt vs Sudan

Group E

11 January: Algeria vs Sierra Leone

11 January: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast

15 January: Ivory Coast vs Sierra Leone

15 January: Algeria vs Equatorial Guinea

19 January: Ivory Coast vs Algeria

19 January: Sierra Leone vs Equatorial Guinea

Group F

12 January: Tunisia vs Mali

12 January: Mauritania vs Gambia

16 January: Gambia vs Mali

16 January: Tunisia vs Mauritania

20 January: Gambia vs Tunisia

20 January: Mali vs Mauritania

Knockout schedule

The Round of 16 fixtures will take place between January 23-26.

The Quarter-final clashes will then take place three days later from January 29-30.

AFCON's semi-finals will be held on February 2-3 with both the third-place play-off and the final on Sunday, February 6.