Africa’s prestigious contest AFCON 2019 kicks off on Friday, 21 June 2019 to Friday, 19 July 2019
After the AFCON draw results early in 2019, it is now clear that Africa’s big names in football will miss the most coveted tournament on the continent
The big absentees, will miss due to pulling off the contest or their national team was eliminated during the qualifier games
1.Joel Matip- Cameroon
Liverpool star defender missed out of the competition due to his own choices of early retirement that happened back in 2018.
His move was however highly criticized from his fans in Cameroon.
Matip born in Germany has been a key defender in Liverpool’s title race for 2018/2019 season
2.Meddie Kagere- Rwanda
Former Gor Mahia hitman who moved away to Tanzania’s Simba S.C.
Meddie is a big name in East Africa who won’t make it to Egypt
3.Jacques Tuyisenge- Rwanda
Just like his fellow Meddie, Tuyisenge is a key man who replaced Meddie at Gor Mahia and he was eliminated alongside the Rwandan teammate
4.Betrand Traore- Burkina Faso
Former Chelsea player Bertrand Isidore Traoré is a Burkinabé professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Lyon and the Burkina Faso national team.
He will miss out due to elimination during qualifier matches
5.George Weah Jr. – Liberia
The son to former Ballon d’or winner and President of Liberia George Weah, plays for PSG and will miss out on such a big tournament his dad would have wished to see his son play.
6.Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang -Gabon
Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang , aged 29 years old is probably the biggest name missing on the race to AFCON 2019 champions
His was urged to retire from football after his Gabon team was eliminated by Burundi
7.Bruno Manga – Gabon
Another big miss is Bruno from England.
Bruno Ecuele Manga is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays for Welsh club Cardiff City in the Premier League and the Gabon national team. Ecuele Manga is known for being a tough tackler
8.Emmanuel Adebayor- Togo
From Togo, he was famous while playing for EPL giants Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
Today he plays for Turkish side İstanbul Başakşehir. He will be a big legendary miss
9.Floyd Ayite- Togo
Fulham striker from EPL will also miss out with his team mate Adebayor
10.McDonald Mariga -Kenya
Mariga who plays as a defensive mid will not play for Kenya after he announced his retirement.
The brother to Victor Wanyama, at 32 years still plays in Italian leagues
AFCON 2019 Draw
Group A:
Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B:
Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C:
Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D:
Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E:
Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F:
Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
