>it seems to be mostly mentioned as a pesky event that takes
>away star players from club football.

I think it was Jonathan Wilson who gave a good explanation and background of why AFCON is scheduled as it is, and why they're unlikely to change. Maybe it was someone else. I'm not annoyed by it—if anything, good chance to see some reserve guys on the club teams get some minutes. Certainly reveals depth, or the lack of it.

Really, it's probably more my unfamiliarity with the vast majority of the players. I just don't watch enough football from the non-EPL leagues to have much name recognition with most rosters, especially Ligue 1 and Bundesliga, where it seems a whole lot of African guys play. So basically, if I watched more AFCON, I'd probably then watch more AFCON. But it's the getting started with it that's the obstacle.

>BeIn's weird channel
>assignment isn't helpful either; I watched a couple games that
>only had arabic commentary, even though the teams playing
>weren't even from arabic-speaking countries.

Lol.