The decision to postpone the 2024 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) has been backed by footballing figures on the continent – despite wider discussions about the competition’s viability.
The tournament for domestic-based players has been moved from February to August, a decision the Confederation of African Football (Caf) made to ensure infrastructure and facilities in co-hosting countries Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are “at the levels necessary”.
Certain reports suggested that, of the three nations who will also stage the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, it is Kenya where most of the work on stadiums and infrastructure is required.
However, Kenyan sports minister Salim Mvurya described those claims as “baseless” while Football Kenya Federation president Hussein Mohammed said the six-month delay would allow the country “time to improve on perfection”.
Caf’s call to postpone CHAN 2024, made just 18 days before the opening game was scheduled, has caused disruption for those teams who had already announced squads, begun training camps and booked travel and accommodation.
The mid-season timing of the tournament has also been seen as an issue, and the president of Tanzanian club Yanga, Hersi Said, welcomed the postponement given the knock-on effect on domestic leagues.
“It was too challenging,” Said told BBC Sport Africa.
“Normally in Tanzania, from February up to end of May is where we finish the league. Having the CHAN in the whole of February would [mean] the addition of a month and it might go to July.
“I am very happy that it has been moved to August. It will give us space to finish the league on time.”
CHAN, first played in 2009, was established by Caf to give tournament experience to players based on the continent, because many senior national sides are now drawn from top talents who ply their trade overseas, predominantly in Europe.
Former Tanzania FA president Leodgar Tenga describes CHAN as a “noble cause” and has urged football leaders to “make sure it continues”.
From a player’s perspective, Kenya midfielder Kenneth Muguna considers the postponement “a positive” for his side.
“It gives us enough room and time for preparation,” he added.
“We were looking forward to playing in February, but unfortunately it is not there. We still need to go out there and grind more and make sure that you are ready by the time CHAN is here.
“It is all about the mental part.”
Players ‘ready any time’ for ‘big’ tournament
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Kenneth Muguna (left) has been a regular for Kenya since making his international debut in 2017
Libya and Tunisia had already withdrawn from the finals, a decision BBC Sport Africa understands was related to clubs releasing players and the resulting disruption to their domestic leagues.
Meanwhile, 14 nations, including 2022 hosts and runners-up Algeria, Egypt and South Africa, did not even enter preliminaries for a lop-sided finals which contains 19 sides.
After Caf increased the prize money on offer, with a total pot of $10.4m (£8.47m) of which $3.5m (£2.85m) will go to the winners, that trio will be involved alongside four other countries in another qualifying tournament which will provide the final two entrants for CHAN 2024.
Kenya midfielder Muguna was unconcerned at the potential absence of countries traditionally seen as African heavyweights.
“I think the tournament itself is big,” the 29-year-old Kenya Police player told BBC Sport Africa.
“It doesn’t matter if maybe the so-called ‘big countries’ are there or not. [It] is the first time in Kenyan history we are participating and it will benefit local players a lot.
“It’s a chance for them also to showcase their talent.”
One positive for CHAN is that its matches are classified as full internationals, meaning results count towards world rankings.
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: South Africa draws several of its senior internationals from Mamelodi Sundowns, who won the Africa Football League in 2023 and will play in the inaugural 32-team Fifa Club World Cup this year
Yet the timing of CHAN in an increasingly packed schedule remains under question, with the 2024 edition already pushed back to 2025.
The new dates in August will come a month after the end of the inaugural Fifa Club World Cup in the United States, where Egypt’s Al Ahly, Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca, Tunisia’s Esperance and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns will be competing.
Certain countries competing in CHAN who draw on their domestic leagues for the bulk of their senior teams will then also face 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers in September, October and potentially November before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on 21 December.
Yet Said shrugged off concerns about player welfare.
“The players are signed to play soccer,” the Yanga president said.
“They’re ready to play any time. They don’t have any other business to do [other] than playing soccer.
“The most important thing is to accommodate the tournaments on time and have them planned properly.”
Draw made despite postponement
The group draw for the finals went ahead in Nairobi on Wednesday evening, with the exact competition dates in August to be announced in “due course” by Caf.
There were audible gasps in the audience as co-hosts Kenya were paired with two-time CHAN winners Morocco and Angola – two countries with domestic leagues which are considered among the strongest on the continent.
Former Harambee Stars midfielder McDonald Mariga, a Serie A and Champions League winner with Inter Milan, was bullish about his country’s chances of finishing in the top two and reaching the last eight.
“We have a big chance to qualify in this group, even though Morocco and Angola have been doing well in the past,” he said.
CHAN 2024 draw
- Group A: Kenya (co-hosts}, Morocco, Angola, DR Congo, Zambia
- Group B: Tanzania (co-hosts), Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic
- Group C: Uganda (co-hosts), Niger, Guinea, qualifier two, qualifier one
- Group D: Senegal, Congo-Brazzaville, Sudan, Nigeria
Algeria, Comoros, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi and South Africa will enter new qualifiers to decide the final two places at the finals.
Caf is yet to announce the format and dates of those preliminaries.