Dr Patrice Motsepe, the CAF President addressing sports enthusiasts
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Football enthusiasts will have to wait a little longer for the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024.
The tournament, whose kick off was set for next month, was set to be hosted by Uganda alongside her East African neighbours Kenya and Tanzania.
In an official statement from CAF, the African football governing body acknowledged the progress the three countries have made in preparing to host the games but admitted the infrastructure levels were still not up to standard.
“I am impressed with the ongoing construction and renovations of the football infrastructure and facilities in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. I am confident that the stadiums, training fields, hotels, hospitals, and other infrastructure and facilities will be at the requisite CAF standards for hosting, in August 2025, a very successful TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (“CHAN”) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024,” said Dr Patrice Motsepe, the CAF President.
He expressed his appreciation to the regional leaders, saying: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to President William Ruto of Kenya, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda for their leadership, commitment and the good progress that has been made in erecting the infrastructure.”
He further noted that the experts “advised CAF that more time is required to ensure that the infrastructure and facilities are at the levels, necessary for hosting a successful.”
Hamz Stadium in downtown Kampala was chosen as one of the main venues for the tournament
Motsepe further elaborated that the decision to postpone the tournament came after CAF Technical and Infrastructure experts conducted a thorough inspection of the progress made on facilities across the East African countries.
He pointed out that despite the postponement, CAF is still expected to conduct the CHAN draw in Nairobi, on Wednesday 15 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
The exact date in August 2025 of the commencement of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (“CHAN”) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024 will be announced by CAF in due course.
This will be the third time that the CECAFA region shall be hosting the CHAN tournament after Sudan in 2011 and Rwanda in 2016.
Senegal is the reigning champion having beaten hosts Algeria 5-4 in post-match penalties after a goal-less draw in normal time.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Morocco have won two titles apiece, after the former won the inaugural edition in 2009 and again in 2016.
Morocco won the cup back-to-back in 2018 and 2020. Other winners are Tunisia (2011), Libya (2014) and lately Senegal (2022).
