Caf President Patrice Motsepe has confirmed that the 2023 Afcon will be played at the start of 2024.

The biennial tournament was supposed to happen between June and July 2023 after the end of of the club competition season.

But because of the rainy season in the host nation Ivory Coast, which is at its worst in June-July, the next edition will happen during between January-February 2024 period.

Motsepe announced the new dates at the CAF Executive Committee in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday.

This is the second time CAF has been forced to shift the dates for the tournament.

The continental body pushed the 2021 Afcon finals to January 2022 because Cameroon was unable to host the competition in the June-July period because of the rainy season.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe will not be at the 2023 Afcon following a FIFA ban that came into place in March.