Africa Cup of Nations to proceed, USL Championship sets schedule format, and more: Freedom Kicks for December 22, 2021

Happy Wednesday, everyone. It’s the final Wednesday before Christmas, so let’s recap what happened yesterday before you get online for some last minute gift shopping.

AFCON 2021: Caf president Motsepe says next month’s finals will be ‘exceptional’ - BBC

The Africa Cup of Nations will proceed as scheduled, according to the CAF president. The tournament kicks off on January 9th in Cameroon.

USL Championship Announces 2022 Competition Format - USL

Loudoun United will play a schedule where they will play each team in the Eastern Conference home and away in 2022. They will also play 4 Western Conference teams at home and another 4 on the road.

OKC Energy FC Takes One-Year Hiatus from USL Championship Play Due to Stadium Renovations - USL

OKC Energy FC will sit out one year while its stadium is being renovated. Apparently, the stadium waiver for Energy FC only applied to their current temporary stadium.

In more USL Championship news, Oakland Roots will have a new training ground next season since the Raiders moved to Vegas:

Italy FA boss: Serie A’s Salernitana risk being kicked out if new owner not found - ESPNFC

Salernitana needs a new owner by the end of the year, or Italy may kick them out of Serie A. We will see if the club finds new ownership in the next 8 days.

World Cup every two years seems unlikely, but here’s what a compromise might look like - ESPNFC

There’s more chatter on the World Cup being anything but every 4 years, and they’re talking way too much about it. Which means it’s probably going to happen.

That’s it for today. Stay vigilant in these streets.