CHAN 2024: CAF postpones kick off date of highly-awaited tournament

CHAN Trophy.

CHAN 2024: CAF postpones kick off date of highly-awaited tournament

Joel Omotto 18:51 - 14.01.2025

The Confederation of African Football has yet again postopned the 2024 CHAN tournament, owing to a number of challenges ahead of the draw set to be held in Nairobi on Wednesday.

The highly-awaited 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN 2024) has been postponed yet again.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) made the annoucement on Tuesday, ending speculation that had been rife on Tuesday over the fate of the tournament.

Widespread reports on Tuesday claimed CAF had decided to push the tournament’s kick off date to August 2025 from the February 1 initially slated, owing to a number of challenges.

Qatari outlet beIN Sports reported that the tournament has been moved due to lack of enough match venues that meet the required standards, doubts over the number of participating teams as well as concerns over the local leagues’ calendar, and CAF confirmed the same on Tuesday evening.

“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 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (“CHAN”) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024,” CAF said via s statement on its website.

“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."

The tournament was officially scheduled between February 1 and 28 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania but some of the infrastructure is not ready with Kenya racing against time to have Kasarani Stadium available while Nyayo Stadium has been declared fit to host the tournament.

There are also reports that an additional venue in Zanzibar did not impress the CAF inspection team while a number of countries had reportedly expressed concerns over the fate of their leagues which will go on without disruptions now that the tournament has been moved to August.

“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 and facilities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for hosting a successful TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (“CHAN”) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024,” CAF boss Patrice 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.”

CHAN 2024 was initially set to take place in September 2024 but was postponed due to lack of match venues that meet standards in some of the host nations.