The squads for countries facing crucial qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations will be hit after all players in the top two divisions of French football were banned from leaving Europe.

The 40 clubs from Ligue 1 and 2 agreed unanimously to prevent their players from leaving the EU and the European Economic Area, because of the quarantine period they would have to undergo on their return to France due to fears of Covid-19 transmission overseas.

While upcoming South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup were last week postponed to allay such fears, the critical African Cup of Nations games were not.

"In the absence of an exemption for foreign international players made available to their national team, and in view of the response times imposed by international regulations, the clubs of Uber Eats Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 have decided to unanimously apply the Fifa circular of February 5, 2021 taking into account the many travel restrictions in the world," a statement from the Ligue de Football Professionell said

"In this context, the clubs will not make available for selection the foreign players summoned for matches outside the EU / EEA zone during the next international period in March."

The two rounds of fixtures to be played between 24 and 30 March will determine the 24 teams who will travel to Cameroon in January 2022.

The news will undoubtedly leave many coaches scrambling to fill their squads.

A large percentage of African internationals - particularly those from French-speaking countries such as Senegal, Cameroon and Ivory Coast - all African footballing powerhouses - play their club football in France.

Benin's head coach Michel Dussuyer has already said he was struggling to pull together enough players for their matches against Nigeria and Sierra Leone.