Fifteen Portuguese clubs will release 18 footballers to eight of the national teams participating in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025, which runs from December 21 to January 18 in Morocco.

With the absence of Cape Verde, the only Lusophone representative in the 2026 World Cup, the focus shifts to the national teams that have called up players from Portuguese clubs, such as Mozambique, Angola, Comoros, Mali, Nigeria, and Benin.

Among the called-up athletes, the following stand out: Diogo Calila (Santa Clara – Mozambique), Geny Catamo (Sporting CP – Mozambique), Witi (Nacional – Mozambique), Keyns Abdala (Chaves B – Mozambique), Kimiss Zavala (Maritimo U23 – Mozambique), Chamito (Academico de Viseu U23 – Mozambique), Jonathan Buatu (Gil Vicente – Angola), Pedro Bondo (Famalicao – Angola), Beni Mukendi (Vitoria Guimaraes – Angola), Sphephelo Sithole (Tondela – Comoros), Remy Vita (Tondela – Comoros), Iyad Mohamed (Casa Pia – Comoros), Sikou Niakate (Braga – Mali), Amadou Dante (Arouca – Mali), Zaidu (Porto – Nigeria), Frank Onyeka (Brentford – Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham – Nigeria), and Alex Iwobi (Fulham – Nigeria).

The only group without Portuguese representatives is Group E, featuring Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, Sudan, and Burkina Faso.

AFCON 2025 will feature 24 national teams, with the top two from each group and the four best third-placed teams qualifying for the round of 16. Morocco will once again be the host nation, replacing Guinea-Conakry, which lost the right due to structural reasons. This repeats the 1988 experience before co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain, according to Record.

Under FIFA guidelines, the called-up players are to be released by their clubs by Monday, minimising the impact on teams and ensuring the participation of all selected individuals.

See the complete list of the 18 Portuguese league players called up for AFCON:

Mozambique (Group F)

Diogo Calila (Santa Clara)

Geny Catamo (Sporting CP)

Witi (Nacional)

Keyns Abdala (Desportivo de Chaves B)

Kimiss Zavala (Maritimo U23) – goalkeeper

Chamito (Academico de Viseu U23) – forward

Angola (Group B)

Jonathan Buatu (Gil Vicente)

Pedro Bondo (Famalicao)

Beni Mukendi (Vitoria Guimaraes)

Sphephelo Sithole (Tondela)

Remy Vita (Tondela)

Comoros (Group A)

Iyad Mohamed (Casa Pia)

Remy Vita (Tondela)

Mali (Group A)

Sikou Niakate (Braga)

Amadou Dante (Arouca)

Nigeria (Group C)

Zaidu (Porto)

Benin (Group D)

Dokou Dodo (Leixoes)

19 Aug2022	Belenenses SAD	CD Santa Clara	€250K
15 Jan2019	Belenenses U23	Belenenses SAD	Free transfer
11 Jul2018	Paços de Ferreira Academy	Belenenses U23	Transfer

Diogo Calila

Transfer History