Update: Man City star could miss 10 games as FIFA change prompts more fixture chaos News

Manchester City face a hectic schedule this summer that will have implications into next season – with one player in particular facing even more upheaval.

Manchester City players are already facing a summer where their break between seasons could be as little as three weeks. There will be no pre-season for the Blues after they finish their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in July before the 2025/26 season opens in August.

If the Blues reach the Club World Cup final and qualify for the 2025 Community Shield by winning the FA Cup, it will fall well short of the recommended four week off-period between seasons. But with FIFA pressing ahead with their controversial expanded Club World Cup and offering almost £100m for a club like City in prize money, the club have little choice but to defend their world title before rushing into the new Premier League season.

That league campaign will run from August 2025 to May 2026 before most players head back to the USA for the 2026 World Cup. And if that wasn’t enough, FIFA have found room in the calendar for the delayed 2025 African Cup of Nations in Morocco – handing City striker Omar Marmoush a hectic year ahead.

Marmoush is a key figure for Egypt who will expect to challenge for the crown of African champions. The tournament was originally set to take place this summer but the Club World Cup has taken precedent so FIFA ordered the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to hold AFCON in the winter. It will now take place in Morocco between December 21 2025 and January 18 2026.

If this season’s schedule is a guide – and the Premier League have committed to sufficient rest over Christmas – then Marmoush could miss up to six league games without accounting for any call-up period before the tournament.

He could also miss the FA Cup third round, two potential Carabao Cup semi-final legs and a Champions League League Phase match – while there could be fixtures in the days after the AFCON final which may be too soon for Marmoush.

That puts Marmoush out of a considerable chunk of City’s season if Egypt go all the way, with key matches in up to four competitions.

Other players who could miss key Premier League games for their clubs due to AFCON are Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, as well as Manchester United trio Andre Onana, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui.

City have experienced the disruption from the African Cup of Nations in the past, with Riyad Mahrez involved in two editions of the tournament during his time at the club including in 2019 when he went all the way in captaining Algeria to the title. But that tournament was held in the summer, although he missed fixtures in 2021 when it was held in winter.

—–

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.