At last, the long wait is over as the delayed 2024 African Nations Champions (Chan) kicks off in the East Africa region today. Kenya is co-hosting the 19-team, four-week biennial football tournament with Uganda and Tanzania.
Chan is a competition exclusively reserved for players plying their trade in their respective domestic leagues.
The opening ceremony will take place today at the 60,000-seater Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, followed by the opening Group “B” match pitting home team, Tanzania’s Taifa Stars and Burkina Faso at the same venue from 8pm (East African Time).
Madagascar, Mauritania, and the Central African Republic are the other teams in the pool.
Group ‘A’ has co-hosts Kenya, 2018 and 2020 champions Morocco, 2009 and 2016 winners the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zambia, while Group ‘C’ has co-hosts Uganda, Niger, Guinea, Algeria, and South Africa. Defending champions Senegal are in Group ‘D’ alongside Nigeria, Sudan, and the Republic of Congo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo squad arrives in Kenya on July 31, 2025 for the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan).
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat| Nation Media Group
Group “D” matches were initially meant to be played in Nairobi but following Kenya’s failure to convince CAF of its capacity to host two groups, the continental football governing body moved them to Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar.
Several dignitaries, including officials from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), are expected to grace the opening ceremony at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, with Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa attending as the guest of honour.
A flurry of entertainment activities will set the mood for the potentially explosive match, with a live performance by Bongo artist Rayvanny being the highlight of the performances. Chan is returning to East Africa after nearly a decade, having last been hosted by Rwanda in 2016.
Kenya was initially selected to host the 2018 Chan, but inadequate preparations saw the country lose the hosting rights to Morocco. With Kenya having previously lost the rights to host the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) due to similar shortcomings, the government has been under pressure to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.
Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat| Nation Media Group
But despite assurances from several government officials, including President William Ruto, that the country would be ready in time for 2024 Chan, Kenya lagged behind in getting venues ready, a situation that put the nation at a crossroads with CAF.
In fact, Kenya was the main culprit when CAF was forced to postpone the tournament from February to August due to inadequate preparations. It was only early last month that the continental football governing body gave Kenya a clean bill of health to co-host the tournament with Uganda and Tanzania.
The 48,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Kasarani, and 18,000-seater Nyayo National Stadium are the match venues in Kenya. The training grounds include Ulinzi Sports Complex, Kasarani Annex ‘A’ and ‘B’, Kenya Police Sacco Stadium, and Kenya Utalii College Sports Ground.
Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, was inspected on June 10, 2025, in preparation for Chan.
Photo credit: File| Nation Media Group
Morocco and DRC are among Kenya’s opponents in Group ‘A’, and with “Harambee Stars” making their debut in Chan, excitement has reached fever pitch in Nairobi. Tickets for Kenya’s opening Group “A” clash against the DRC tomorrow at the MISC have already sold out. The match will kick off at 3pm.
In Kenya, the regular tickets are selling at Sh200, while VIP and the VVIP tickets are retailing at Sh500 and Sh1000 respectively.
In their other Group ‘A’ matches, Harambee Stars will next face Angola on Thursday from 7pm, before clashing with 2018 and 2020 champions Morocco on August 10 from 3pm. Kenya will conclude her group matches against Zambia on August 17 from 3pm.
All Harambee Stars’ group matches will take place at MISC, Kasarani - the same venue earmarked for the tournament’s final on August 30.
Yearning to see the locally based players showcase their talents, all roads will surely lead to MISC for Kenya’s matches. Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy named a 25-man squad for the tournament, captained by experienced defender Aboud Omar.
Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy addresses the media after the team's training session at Nyayo National Stadium on July 23, 2025
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
McCarthy’s camp has been hit by injuries and withdrawal of key players who signed up for clubs abroad. Strikers Moses Shumah and Emmanuel Osoro pulled out of the squad after signing for Zambian top side Power Dynamos.
Attacking midfielder Mohammed Bajaber also pulled out of the squad to complete a move to Tanzanian giants Simba SC, while Swaleh Pamba and Brian Musa were dropped due to injuries.
The government has asked Kenyans to rally behind Harambee Stars, but also urged them to behave well during the tournament.
While only the top two teams in all the four groups will progress to the quarter-finals, Harambee Stars are assured of receiving a whopping Sh25.8 million for featuring in the tournament.
The difference between Afcon and Chan.
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
CAF has announced a record prize purse of Sh1.3 billion ($10,400,000) for the tournament, a 32 per cent increase from the Sh1.02 billion ($7.9 million) awarded at the last edition held in Algeria in 2023.
Champions will receive Sh452.2 million ($3,500,000), marking a 75 per cent increase from the Sh258.4 million ($2,000,000) awarded to Senegal for winning the previous edition.
The second-placed team will pocket Sh155 million ($1,200,000) while teams that finish third and fourth will receive Sh90.4 million ($700,000) and Sh77. 5 million ($600,000) respectively.
The three teams that finish bottom in the five-team Groups “A”, “B” and “C” will each receive a prize of Sh25.8 million ($200,000). A similar amount will go to all the fourth-placed teams in the three pools alongside the bottom-placed team in the four-team Group ‘D’.
For the three teams that emerge third in the five-team Groups “A”, “B” and “C” along with the third-placed team in Group “D”, they will each receive Sh38.7 million ($300,000).
Meanwhile, the four losing quarter finalists will each pocket Sh58.1 million ($450,000). Only the top two teams in each pool will progress to the quarterfinal stage.
To mitigate against crowd trouble, the Local Organising Committee has announced an elaborate plan in collaboration with various security agencies.
These measures include a ban on the sale of tickets on the days Kenya will be playing, screening fans at least one kilometre away from the stadium, and deploying a large number of security personnel, among them those trained by CAF on crowd control.
The other measures are real-time monitoring of all sections of the stadiums, road closures, assigning each ticket a specific seat number, and creating a fan zone at Uhuru Park in Nairobi.
On Thursday, Nairobi Traffic Commander Joseph Chirchir announced that the Aerodrome Road will be closed from Madaraka roundabout to Bunyala roundabout.
One side of Langata Road (between Madaraka and Lusaka roundabouts) and one side of Mombasa Road (from Lusaka to Bunyala roundabout) will also be inaccessible.
