Sport
Soccer: Assessing the impact of Africa Cup of Nations on the English Premier League
Brothers, Kolo Toure (l) and Yaya Toure. PHOTO/Getty Images
The Africa Cup of Nations is one of the few occasions that international football takes precedence over the domestic calendar and, for almost a month, the Premier League will be a marginally poorer place as many of its leading players join the biennial exodus to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
For Africans, this tournament means everything. For certain Premier League managers, however, it will serve as a profound irritant.
Their ringing complaints may sound a little less shrilly this year, given that some of the giants of African football – Nigeria, Cameroon and Algeria, for example – failed to qualify.
The likes of Alex Song and John Obi Mikel, therefore, will not be affected. But certain clubs will feel a void, and foremost among them are Newcastle United.