CHAN 2024: draw comes amid high expectations and plenty of uncertainty

The Confederation of African Football is once again at the centre of attention and, above all, debate. The African Nations Championship (CHAN 2024), originally scheduled for February, has been postponed to August 2025. The unexpected decision was announced on the eve of the group draw. This eighth edition will see the competition return to East Africa for the first time since CHAN 2016 in Rwanda. The group draw, scheduled for Wednesday 15 January, will be held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre ("KICC") in Nairobi, Kenya (17:00 GMT)).

A controversial postponement

It was only on Tuesday evening that the Confederation of African Football announced the tournament's postponement. The change to the calendar was officially justified by the desire to give the three co-hosts - Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania - time to finish the necessary infrastructure work. According to the Moroccan outlet Le360, the decision was taken in a rush, barely 24 hours before the event.

Read also: Why has CAF postponed CHAN 2024 to August?

At the same time, the situation is complicated by the absence of two qualified teams out of the 19 expected. For now, CAF has only confirmed 17 qualifiers from the qualifying rounds, with the last two still to be determined. This lack of clarity raises plenty of questions about the organisation of CHAN 2024 and the credibility of a competition that still hasn't managed to find its place.

An unprecedented group structure

For this 19-team edition, CAF has opted for four groups: one group of four teams and three groups of five teams each. This format, different from the previous edition, upends initial expectations.

The three host nations (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) and the holders, Senegal, are seeded. However, Morocco, despite being semi-finalists at the last edition, do not enjoy that privileged status and find themselves in pot A. The pot also includes Madagascar, Niger and Congo, which points to some very tough groups.

The pots for the CHAN 2024 group draw

Seeded teams

• Kenya (hosts)
• Tanzania (hosts)
• Uganda (hosts)
• Senegal (holders)

Pot A

• Morocco
• Niger
• Congo
• Madagascar

Pot B

• Mauritania
• Guinea
• Sudan
• Angola

Pot C

• DR Congo
• Zambia
• Burkina Faso
• Nigeria
• Central African Republic
• Team to be determined
• Team to be determined

With a draw that promises some thrilling clashes, CHAN 2024 will have to overcome several organisational challenges before kicking off in August 2025. CAF will be under pressure to dispel the doubts and deliver a tournament that lives up to the expectations of African fans.

Malick BAMBA