Credit: Steven Kunta
The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has announced the postponement of the much-anticipated TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024, which was scheduled to take place in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The tournament will now be held in August 2025, following advice from CAF’s technical and infrastructure experts.
In a statement released by CAF, the organization cited delays in the readiness of essential infrastructure across the three host nations as the reason for the postponement. Despite significant progress in the construction and upgrading of stadiums, training fields, hotels, hospitals, and other facilities, CAF’s experts have advised that more time is required to ensure that all infrastructure meets the necessary standards for hosting a successful tournament.
CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe expressed his appreciation for the leadership and commitment shown by the heads of state of the host nations, acknowledging the substantial progress made in developing the required infrastructure. He particularly commended Presidents William Ruto of Kenya, Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda for their dedication to the project.
“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) 2024,” Dr. Motsepe said.
He further expressed confidence that, with the additional time, the facilities will be up to CAF standards, ensuring a successful tournament in August 2025.
CAF has also confirmed that the draw for the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024 will take place in Nairobi on Wednesday, 15 January 2025, at 20:00 Nairobi time.
The exact date for the tournament’s commencement in August 2025 will be announced by CAF in due course.
This decision marks a setback for the tournament, but it ensures that the hosting nations will have adequate time to complete the necessary infrastructure to make CHAN 2024 a memorable and successful event for African football. Fans and teams alike will now have to wait until 2025 to witness the excitement of the continent’s premier tournament for national teams made up of home-based players.
