Key AFCON Absences That Will Impact FPL
Here are the players most likely to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations and cause the biggest headaches for Fantasy managers:
| Club | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Brentford | Dango Ouattara | Burkina Faso |
| Burnley | Lyle Foster | South Africa |
| Crystal Palace | Ismaila Sarr | Senegal |
| Everton | Iliman Ndiaye | Senegal |
| Fulham | Alex Iwobi | Nigeria |
| Liverpool | Mohamed Salah | Egypt |
| Man City | Rayan Ait-Nouri, Omar Marmoush | Algeria, Egypt |
| Man Utd | Amad, Bryan Mbeumo | Ivory Coast, Cameroon |
| Newcastle | Yoane Wissa | DR Congo |
| Nottingham Forest | Ola Aina | Nigeria |
| West Ham | El Hadji Malick Diouf, Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Senegal, DR Congo |
| Wolves | Emmanuel Agbadou | Ivory Coast |
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Popular assets who aren’t affected include Antoine Semenyo, Mohammed Kudus, and Yankuba Minteh, as their nations failed to qualify.
What FPL Managers Need to Know Ahead of AFCON
Fantasy Premier League bosses are about to get a unique advantage in Gameweek 16, with up to five free transfers being handed out to help navigate the AFCON disruption.
The Africa Cup of Nations begins on 21 December and runs through to 18 January 2026, overlapping with Gameweeks 17–22. In some cases, players may even depart early, potentially before GW16 kicks off.
How to Get All Five Free Transfers
To unlock the full set of free transfers, managers should aim to enter the GW15 deadline with zero transfers saved. This means:
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You get your usual one free transfer in GW16
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Plus four bonus AFCON transfers
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Total: five
If you carry over transfers from GW14 and GW15 and arrive in GW16 with three saved, FPL will only add two more, causing you to miss out on the full allocation.
Chip Strategy: Use AFCON to Your Advantage
With only six gameweeks left to use your first-half chips, the AFCON boost can play a big part in your planning.
Many managers traditionally pair the Wildcard and Bench Boost, making sure they have 15 solid starters.
But AFCON opens up another route:
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Wildcard in GW14 to attack short-term fixtures
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Then use the extra AFCON transfers to shape your squad for a Bench Boost between GW16–19
This makes your squad more flexible and lets you adapt quickly to AFCON call-ups.
