AFCON Update: Frustrating Situation In Mali Camp

AFCON Update: Frustrating Situation In Mali Camp

Sampson Adedeji

A frustrating situation has emerged in the Mali national team camp ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, with the Eagles set to go into the tournament without proper pre-competition preparations, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Mali will play no friendly matches and will not hold a structured pre-camp before the start of the tournament, raising concerns about the team’s readiness for AFCON.

The head coach, who is currently in Belgium, is expected to arrive in Bamako tomorrow.

He will announce a 28-man provisional squad on Thursday morning before flying to Casablanca later in the evening to link up with the team.

There are injury concerns surrounding Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma, but the midfielder is still expected to be named in the squad despite his fitness doubts.

With the majority of the players based in Europe, the squad is not expected to fully assemble until December 16, leaving the technical crew with limited time to work with the team.

From then, the team will only have hotel-based preparations and training sessions before beginning their group stage campaign against Zambia, Morocco and Comoros.

Sources within the camp have described the situation as far from ideal, as Mali head into one of Africa’s biggest tournaments under less-than-perfect conditions.