Hosts Guinea have ruled out switching the dates of the 2023 African Nations Cup finals to accommodate the Qatar World Cup, their sports minister said.

Domani Dore contradicted a statement by Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke, who said last week that the 2023 Nations Cup would be pushed back six months to June from its usual January date.

With the 2022 World Cup now scheduled for November/December, Valcke said that hosting the Nations Cup just one month later would be unfeasible.

He added that it had been agreed with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to move the 16-team tournament to later in the year.

Guinea, however, say they will refuse the new dates.

“We cannot accommodate the Nations Cup in June, it is the rainy season,” Dore told Guinea television.

“CAF needs to take care to seek the advice of Guinea that we as a state decide which dates the tournament will be played. We understand the problem around the World Cup and a clash with the Nations Cup.

“But CAF needs to take care to ask our opinion. In June, we cannot accommodate a Nations Cup tournament. It’s not possible,” Dore added.

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