How competing national interests among East African countries tested hosting of Chan

On September 28, 2023, Caf declared that Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania would host the 2025 Afcon.

The three countries had presented a joint bid known as ‘East Africa Pamoja Bid”, and would therefore use 2024 Chan as a dry run.

This year marked the first time that the biennial tournament, which is exclusively reserved for players competing in their respective domestic leagues, was being co-hosted by more than one country.

African football giants Morocco were crowned champions after defeating Madagascar 3-2 in the final at the 48,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani last Saturday.

Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has described the 19-nation showpiece as the most successful edition in the history of the competition.

Yet, behind the scenes, competing national interests and sibling rivalry among the three co-host nations exposed the lingering differences that continue to test the region’s quest for real unity.

According to Kenya’s Local Organising Committee (LOC) chairman Nicholas Musonye, lack of consensus among the three countries led to the absence of key symbolic elements in the tournament - mascot, theme song, joint Local Organising Committee (LOC), and an official website on which stories from the tournament would be published.

In major sporting events, a mascot plays several roles, among them embodying the spirit of the competition and reflecting the host nation’s culture, wildlife or heritage.

Whereas the Mascot is also the visual icon of the tournament, the theme song is the musical identity of the tournament, capturing the competition’s spirit and promoting unity.

Speaking to Nation Sport, Musonye said that these elements were missing at the tournament since each of the three countries insisted on its own choice being adopted.

Kenya proposed that the lion be adopted as the mascot for the games, while Uganda preferred the crane, and Tanzania settled on the giraffe. None of the countries was willing to back down.

Musonye explained that when each of the three countries stood its ground, a plan was floated for a mascot combining images of the three animals. However, it was shelved as it was deemed unpresentable.

“We had meetings as Pamoja countries, in Uganda, here (in Nairobi), and in Tanzania.

"The partnership was good but not very solid, that is why at the end of the day we did not have a common Local Organising Committee. We did not even have a mascot. We were to have a lion, but Uganda and Tanzania refused. We were to have an elephant, but Uganda and Tanzania refused,” Musonye said yesterday.

“We were to have something combined, a crane, lion and a giraffe which did not look good, so we abandoned the whole thing. Those are some of the challenges we had because every country stood its ground that it must be a crane for Uganda, a lion for Kenya and giraffe for Tanzania.

Because of that back and forth, we couldn’t have a mascot, even a song so quietly we said ‘let football be played with or without a mascot or a song’. So no one knew that there were issues,” added the former Cecafa Secretary General.

The animals carry deep national significance for the three countries.

The lion features prominently on Kenya’s coat of arms, the crane is the central emblem of Uganda’s flag while in Tanzania, giraffe is the national animal and is often associated with grace, vision and leadership.

The tournament’s theme song was supposed to be in Kiswahili, and was meant to promote unity. Musonye said that, whereas artistes from the three countries submitted several songs, there was no consensus on which one to adopt.

“We were supposed to have a common song that unites the three countries. It was supposed to be in Kiswahili but we could not agree. We met several times, musicians from all over the region brought their songs but we just abandoned the plan. We said ‘leave it, what is a song? the tournament must be played with or without a song’,” said the veteran football administrator.

A common LOC was to ensure that the three countries are on the same page in the planning and coordination of the tournament. It was to be composed of selected members of the three countries’ LOCs.

While the common website was to showcase stories from the tournament from across the region, Musonye said there was division on who was to “host it”.

As a result, Kenya’s LOC went ahead and launched its own website.

Even before the tournament’s kick-off, fans of the three countries were at loggerheads on who should host the key matches.

After consulting the three countries, CAF settled on the 60,000-seater Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam as the venue for the opening ceremony, while MISC Kasarani was selected for the final.

Uganda was selected to host the third-place play-off match. The rivalry among the three countries continued during the tournament, with a stinging online banter between fans from Kenya and Tanzania taking center stage.

While Tanzanians looked down upon Harambee Stars’ pragmatic approach to matches, Kenyans were quick to point out that Taifa Stars were in a relatively easy group comprising Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mauritania and debutants Central Africa Republic.

Tanzanians threw a party when Kenya exited the tournament at the quarter-finals stage after losing 4-3 to Madagascar on August 22. The two teams drew 1-1 at the end of regular and extra time.

It was the same case later that evening after Morocco defeated hosts Tanzania 1-0 at the same stage, the Kenyan fans thanking the north Africans for doing them a big favour.

It has been a tradition of the three neighbours to support their opponents opposing teams.

At the semi-final match of the 2027 Rugby World Cup Africa qualifiers held at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala in July, Kenya took on Zimbabwe, and Ugandans widely cheered the Southern African nation. Kenya lost the match 29-23.

The rivalry between the three countries extends beyond sports to other areas, including trade. In July, Tanzania banned foreigners from participating in several business including mobile money, tour guiding and electronic repairs.

The move sparked protests from Kenyan leaders, who viewed the ban as discriminatory and a threat to regional integration within the region.

To ensure that Kenya co-hosts 2027 Afcon seamlessly with Uganda, Musonye said there is need for the country to complete its preparations early enough. Kenya must clear equipment at the airport in time, and train stewards and volunteers. Kenya must also identify a proper ticketing company, and set up more training venues.

“When you have things arriving at the airport and you want to clear them at the last minute, you incur heavy costs. Another challenge that we faced was identifying volunteers and stewards which we must now do early. We must have a master list of reliable people, not the way we did with Chan),” said Musonye.

Speaking when he appeared before the of the National Assembly’s Committee on Sports and Culture in July, Musonye said that consignments belonging to CAF destined for the tournament were facing clearance delays at various points of entry since the government had yet to implement the guaranteed tax exemption on the equipment.