THE AFRICA Cup of Nations begins this month – but what does that mean for Cherries?

Shortened to AFCON for brevity's sake, the tournament pits all of Africa's best teams together to crown a continental champion.

Hosted every two years, AFCON is frequently hosted in the winter due to unsuitable weather conditions in Africa.

Attackers Antoine Semenyo and Dango Ouattara have been called up by Ghana and Burkina Faso respectively for the tournament, which starts on Saturday, January 13.

Cherries, Burkina Faso, and Ouattara are anxiously waiting to see the extent of the ankle injury picked up during Sunday’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Hamed Traore likely would have been called up by the Ivory Coast after being named in the provisional squad, but the midfielder is still recovering after recently being hospitalised with malaria.

Countries competing at AFCON will have no less than 24 hours before their first match to select a replacement player for anyone ruled out by a “serious injury” as per competition rules.

It will be Semenyo’s first taste of the competition, having made his debut for Ghana during the qualifying campaign for the tournament.

If Ouattara is fit enough to play, it will be his second tournament.

The winger scored the winner against Tunisia in the quarter finals at the 2021 edition, also seeing red and missing the subsequent semi-final and third-place play-off.

With a group stage consisting of three games and then four rounds of knockouts, there is the potential for Cherries to be without both Semenyo and Ouattara for a good chunk of the season.

Unlike the European equivalent of the tournament, the Euros, there is a third-place play-off for beaten semi-finalists.

As such, if a side reaches the final four, their players will be away from their clubs for the entirety of the tournament.

The pair will depart ahead of Cherries’ FA Cup clash with QPR on Saturday, January 6.

Thanks to the Premier League’s winter break, there is only one league fixture in January, with only two matches currently scheduled in the first month of 2024.

However, if Cherries are victorious against QPR, their fourth-round tie will be staged at the end of January.

How strong are Ghana and Burkina Faso's chances?

As evident by their consistent qualifications for the World Cup, Ghana are one of the stronger teams in Africa.

However, Chris Hughton’s Black Stars have struggled for form in the build-up to the competition.

Host nation, the Ivory Coast, will be amongst the favourites.

Ouattara’s Burkina Faso are outsiders in comparison, but they feature Premier League quality in the form of Luton’s Issa Kabore and Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore.

They did manage to reach the semi-final stages of the last edition, losing 3-1 to eventual winners Senegal.

How does the group stage work?

Ghana are in Group B with 2021 finalists Egypt, as well as Cape Verde and Mozambique. They are expected to qualify from their group.

Burkina Faso were drawn into Group D, where they will face Algeria, Angola and Mauritania. Algeria are favourites to win the group, but Burkina Faso will fancy finishing in at least second.

The top two teams in each of the six groups will qualify for the round of sixteen, which will be supplemented by the four-best third-placed finishers.

Hosts Ivory Coast kick-off the tournament against Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, January 13 at 8pm.

Ghana’s campaign starts the next day, when they face Cape Verde on Sunday, January 14 in Abidjan.

They then face Egypt in a crucial clash on Thursday, January 18, before rounding off their campaign against Mozambique on Monday, January 22. All three of the Black Stars’ games will be played in stadia in Abidjan.

Burkina Faso start with a kind fixture in Group D. They will play Mauritania on Tuesday, January 16 in Bouake.

They then face group favourites Algeria on Saturday, January 20. Their final game of the group is against Angola, who they face in Yamoussoukro on Tuesday, January 23.

What are the dates for the knockouts?

Due to all the different permutations stemming from four out of six third-placed teams advancing, it is difficult to plot exact routes to the finals until the end of the group stage.

The first knockout round will be staged between Saturday, January 27, and Tuesday, January 30.

Then the quarter finals will take place across Friday, February 2, and Saturday, February 3, with the semi-finals scheduled to be played on the same day, Wednesday, February 7.

A third-place play-off will precede the final, the losers of the semi-finals facing each other in Abidjan on Saturday, February 10.

The final will be hosted on Sunday, February 11 at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe.

Who will Cherries' upcoming opponents be without?

Liverpool will be without talisman Mo Salah for their trip to Vitality Stadium near the end of the month.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds will also be impacted by the Asian Cup, with summer signing Wataru Endo selected by Japan.

West Ham’s star summer signing Mohammed Kudus will hope to be going all the way with Semenyo and Ghana, but there is the chance that an early exit for the Black Stars could see the winger face Cherries on Thursday, February 1.

The Hammers could also be without centre-back Nayef Aguerd, who will represent World Cup semi-finalists Morocco.

Whilst AFCON will almost be over by the time Cherries welcome Nottingham Forest to Vitality Stadium on Sunday, February 4, there is a strong chance that Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tricky Trees will still be impacted by the tournament.

That is because they have six players away on international duty, all representing favourites for the competition.

Reigning champions Senegal have selected Cheikhou Kouyate and Moussa Niakhate, whilst trio Serge Aurier, Willy Boly, and Ibrahim Sangare are set to play for hosts, the Ivory Coast.

Right-back Ola Aina has been called up by Nigeria, another pre-tournament favourite.

It is a similar story for Fulham, who host Cherries a day before the final of AFCON.

They have two Nigerians away at the tournament in the form of Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi, whilst Fode Ballo-Toure could go far with Senegal.

Cherries' past with the tournament

The most recent Cherry to feature at the tournament was left-back Jordan Zemura, who represented Zimbabwe at the 2022 edition two years ago.

However, a ban from FIFA prevented Zimbabwe from competing in the qualifiers, so they will not be at the finals this year.

Former Cherry Max Gradel, an AFCON winner with the Ivory Coast in 2015, is the only ex-AFCB player at this year’s tournament.