Revealed: East Africa ready to host CHAN 2024 as dress rehearsal for AFCON 2027

Travis Mutyaba (right) taking on Senegal's Lamine Camara (left) at the 2022 CHAN tournament (FUFA media).

FOOTBALL Revealed: East Africa ready to host CHAN 2024 as dress rehearsal for AFCON 2027

Peter Tabu • 15:02 - 28.09.2023

Having edged African football powerhouses like Egypt and Senegal to win the bid, the three East African nations in Kenya Uganda and Tanzania are already going all out

The successful East Africa PAMOJA bid to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations is already taking no prisoners as they step up preparations for the biggest football spectacle on the continent.

Having edged African football powerhouses like Egypt and Senegal to win the bid, the three East African nations in Kenya Uganda and Tanzania are already going all out

Including requesting the African Football Governing Body (CAF) to grant them the 2024 Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) hosting rights.

“We have also committed to CAF that we’re ready to host CHAN 2024 as the three EA countries as a rehearsal to ensure that we improve and understand our shortcomings before AFCON 2027,” FUFA President Moses Magogo revealed upon arrival from Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday.

“If given to us, it will be an excellent rehearsal for everybody because CHAN is a smaller version of AFCON; we believe we are ready for 2024; it’s up to CAF to decide.”

He added: “But we have given them assurance from the three governments because that’s what we’ve agreed upon, we wait to see.”

Magogo also highlighted what all three nations agreed upon regarding the number of stadiums, highlighting that each country has to have three stadiums as a precautionary measure.

“We have everything we need to host AFCON; what we need now is to work on the stadium. we have agreed every country should avail three stadiums, and at least one should have a 40k capacity.”

“We are planning that in case one-member state fails, there will still be six stadiums available; that’s part of our contingency plan.”

The African Nations Championships (CHAN) is a biennial tournament created in 2011 by CAF where only local-based players in the respective leagues across the continent feature, with 18 countries squaring off in a pool of four groups.

Uganda has failed to leave the group stages on all five occasions it’s participated; DR Congo and Morocco are the most successful sides, having each won two titles.

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