Montpellier Coach on AFCON-Bound Players: 'We Wouldn't Delay Them if it Were a European Championship or Copa América!'

Zomana Camara, coach of French Ligue 2 side Montpellier, has announced that he will grant his players the freedom to decide when to join their respective national teams for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025.

Camara clarified that he will engage in discussions with his players, allowing them to determine their mental and physical readiness to participate in the upcoming Ligue 2 match against Grenoble on December 13 (14:00 GMT+1) before reporting for international duty. He affirmed that if players do not feel capable of playing, they will be released early from their club commitments.

In a media statement regarding the matter, Camara said: “I will talk to them, and I will leave them the freedom to choose whether they feel mentally and physically capable of playing the Grenoble match before joining their national teams, and if not, I will release them early.”

He concluded: “I want to respect the national teams, and I want to respect my players. I don't think we would have acted the same way, delaying their joining the national team to stay with us until two or three days before, if the tournament was a European Championship or Copa América.”