Why CHAN 2024 Has Been Postponed

The 2024 edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), second only to the Africa Cup of Nations in importance and value in international continental football in Africa, will be postponed until August 2025, tournament organisers decided on Tuesday.

The move was announced by CAF, the Confédération Africaine de Football, or Confederation of African Football, the administrative and governing body for African football responsible for organising major competitions in Africa, including AFCON, the CAF Champions League, and the CAF Confederation Cup.

Officials from CAF, led by Dr Patrice Motsepe, the President, explained that the decision to delay CHAN 2024 was driven by unforeseen infrastructure shortcomings affecting venues in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, where upgrades are still underway in preparation for the championship.

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“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 hosting a successful TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (‘CHAN’) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024.

“However, the CAF Technical and Infrastructure experts, some of whom have been based in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, have advised CAF that more time is required to ensure that the infrastructure and facilities are at the levels necessary for hosting a successful TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (‘CHAN’) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024,” CAF said in a statement.

Personally, after visiting the three countries that were supposed to host the championship between February 1 and February 28, Motsepe said: “I am impressed with the ongoing construction and renovations of the football infrastructure and facilities in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. 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.”

Despite the postponement, the group draw for CHAN will go ahead as planned in Nairobi on Wednesday at 8:00 pm EAT, even though the final line-up of teams is yet to be decided.

First held in 2009, CHAN is a biennial football tournament contested by 16 qualifying African national teams. For CHAN 2024, the qualified teams are Kenya (co-hosts), Tanzania (co-hosts), Uganda (co-hosts), Angola, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Zambia.

CAF has stated that the exact date for the start of CHAN Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024 in August 2025 will be announced in due course.

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