Caf postpones 2024 CHAN to August
CAF President Patrice Motsepe addresses a press conference on September 16 in Nairobi after leading an inspection team to Kenya.
What you need to know:
- Despite the postponement, CAF will conduct the draw for the tournament in Nairobi on Wednesday, January 15 from 8pm. The exact dates for the championship in August 2025 will be announced by CAF in due course.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has postponed the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), which was to kick off next month in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, to August.
The 19-team tournament is for national teams made up of home-based players only and was due to kick off on Febuary 1, but will now take place in August because facilities are not ready.
The three East African countries are due to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals and the CHAN is supposed to serve as a test event.
“Good progress has been made in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with the construction and upgrading of stadiums, training fields, hotels, hospitals and other infrastructure and facilities for the hosting of a successful CHAN,” said a Caf statement on Tuesday.
“However, the CAF technical and infrastructure experts have advised that more time is required to ensure that the infrastructure and facilities are at the levels necessary for hosting a successful CHAN."
The delay comes just weeks after CAF president Patrice Motsepe travelled to Kenya for a meeting with the country’s president William Ruto to try and speed up the process.
Caf will go ahead with the finals draw, scheduled for Nairobi on Wednesday, it added, and said the exact dates in August for the tournament would be announced “in due course”.
Motsepe acknowledged the efforts of the host nations' leadership and expressed his confidence in the ongoing developments.
“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 building and upgrading the stadiums, training fields, hotels, hospitals, and other infrastructure for hosting a successful TotalEnergies African Nations Championship,” said Dr Motsepe.
