How badly each Premiership club could be hit by Africa Cup of Nations call ups including Hibs and Hearts

One of the biggest international in world football returns this month as the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on December 21 in Morocco.

The competition will conclude with the final on January 24 2026 and clubs across Europe, including in Scotland, will be without the African players who are called up for as long as their country remains in the tournament. However, AFCON will hit some clubs harder than others when it comes time for players to fly out.

Clubs who almost certainly will not be impacted by AFCON call ups

As things stand, seven out of the 12 current Scottish Premiership clubs are unlikely to have any representation at the 2025/26 Africa Cup of Nations. They are: Dundee, Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Falkirk, Aberdeen and Livingston.

The only current Kilmarnock player who would be anything close to eligible for this year's AFCON is Tobi Oluwayemi. The Celtic loanee has Nigerian heritage but has been capped by England up to under 20 level.

Dundee's French defender Billy Koumetio is eligible for Cameroon but has played youth international football for France and is currently declared for them. Emile Acquah is English of Ghanaian descent but there are no indications of him switching international allegiance nor would he likely be near the current Black Stars squad if he did.

Across the city, Dundee United have Isaac Pappoe, who has been capped by Ghana at under 20 level, but the 21-year old midfielder is unlikely to be called up. Panutche Camará is the only other African plar on the books at Tannadice but Guinea-Bissau did not qualify for this year's tournament.

St Mirren's Jonah Ayunga is a current Kenyan international but they also did not qualify for this year's AFCON. Tunmise Sobowale and Roland Idowu are both of Nigerian descent but have shown no indication of switch allegiances and would likely not be near the current Super Eagles squad if they did.

Falkirk have Ghanaian winger Alfredo Ageyman on their books but the 25-year old is certainly way down the list of players the Black Stars might look to call up. The Bairns also have Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi, who was born in England and is also eligible for Nigeria but is declared for Belgium and has been capped for them at youth level.

Aberdeen have Nigerian striker Peter Ambrose but he doesn't seem to have any future at the North East club, let alone a shot at a call up for the Super Eagles. Emmanuel Gyamfi is eligible for Ghana but the 21-year old is currently declared for his birth country of Germany.

Also for the Dons is Adil Aouchiche, who is eligible for Algeria, with the Sunderland loanee's chances of a senior France call up probably beyond him now despite having had such a promising start to his youth international career. If he did switch allegiances he may very well be a player that Algeria would consider down the line but it's almost certainly too short notice for this tournament.

Livingston's Jeremy Bokila does have a decent number of caps for DR Congo but none since 2017 and they have already named their squad for the tournament without him in it. Tete Yengi is Australian of Sudanese descent but would probably rather follow in the footsteps of his older brother (Aberdeen's Kusini Yengi) and play for the Socceroos while Samson Lawal, like many other Scottish Premiership players, is of Nigerian descent but not declared nor likely to be considered for the Super Eagles.

Two clubs expected to have one call up each for AFCON including Hearts

Now we move on to the clubs who are likely to have at least one player taking part in the tournament. They are Hearts and Motherwell.

The Jambos have striker Pierre Landry Kabore who is an important player for Burkina Faso so you can expect him to be heading to this year's AFCON. Beni Baningime was born in Kinshasa but has never been called up for DR Congo and was not part of the squad they named for the tournament while Elton Kabangu is of Congolese descent but declared for Belgium.

The Steelmen look set to lose Tawanda Maswanhise who will surely keep his place in the current Zimbabwe squad. They also have Ibrahim Said who is Nigerian and was capped at youth level but does not appear to be near the current Super Eagles team.

Also for Motherwell are Emmanuel Longelo, Esapa Osong and Eseosa Sule who are of Congolese, Cameroonian and Nigerian descent respectively. Longelo and Osong are declared for England and Sule for Scotland and none would likely be near the current senior squads for the three African nations.

Celtic and Rangers likely to have multiple AFCON call ups but Hibs to be hit hardest

Finally we have the three teams who will almost certainly lose more than one player to the tournament this month. They are Celtic, Rangers and Hibs. Nasser Dijga is a certain call up for Burkina Faso and Mohamed Doimande is likely to be a part of the Ivory Coast squad so Rangers will have to do without them.

Youssef Chermiti is eligible for Tunisia but has shown no signs of international switch from Portugal where he is a current under 21 international. The Gers also have Clinton Nsiala and Jayden Meghoma who are of Congolese and Nigerian descent respectively but are not declared for those nations. Also, Djeidi Gassama is of Mauritanian descent but they did not qualify for this year's AFCON anyway.

Celtic will be without Michel-Ange Balikwisha who is confirmed as part of the DR Congo squad. Sebastian Tounekti has only earned three caps for Tunisia since his international debut in 2021 but did feature in World Cup qualifiers in September and October so you'd expect he'd have a decent chance of going to this year's AFCON.

Then there's Kelechi Iheanacho who is currently sidelined with an injury which could end his chances of featuring at the tournament. The striker has been an important player for Nigeria over the past decade, with 59 caps, but was not a part of their most recent squads so between that and his fitness it is probably 50/50 at this stage whether he goes or not.

Undoubtedly the club who will be hit hardest by AFCON call ups is Hibs. They already know they will be losing Rocky Bushiri to DR Congo with two more players likely to be joining him.

Jordan Obita and Miguel Chaiwa are both part of the current Uganda and Zimbabwe national teams respectively. Both are expected to be called up again which then leaves David Gray without three first team players. Fortunately for the Easter Road gaffer, although not for his players, they will be holding on to Alasana Manneh and Thibault Klidjé. That's because Gambia and Togo failed to qualify for the tournament.

Finally, Elie Youan is eligible to play for the Ivory Coast having been born in France to Ivorian parents. He represented his country of birth up to under 20 level and there has been no suggestion he would switch international allegiances or that he would be near the Elephants' squad if he did.

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