CAF president reveals why CHAN 2024 is best in the tournaments' history

Following a highly successful tourney, hosted by three nations, the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) has been dubbed the best ever by the CAF hierarchy.

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After a month-long tournament, the 2024 CHAN came to a conclusion on Saturday, 30 August, with a final match between Madagascar and Morocco at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, with the latter winning the title.

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The biennial continental tourney was co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in a joint venture dubbed Pamoja (Swahili word for together).

In an address to the press after the CAF Executive Committee Meeting on Saturday, 30 August at a Nairobi hotel, CAF President Dr. Partrice Motsepe heaped praise on the 2024 edition.

“This is the most successful CHAN in the history of the competition,” said Motsepe.

The South African billionaire went ahead to list the reasons, especially due to the population of East Africa.

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“The three host nations have a population of about 160 million, and if you look at the larger East Africa, we are talking of over 400 million people.

I have just been told that viewership for this tournament was over 40 million, while over 140,000 fans turned up in fan parks in Kenya. There was a huge interest in fan parks,” he added.

In preparation for the tournament, the three host nations demonstrated a lack of preparedness, which led to the tournament’s postponement from February to August, with Motsepe revealing why CAF did not revoke East Africa's hosting rights.

“We wanted to develop and grow football in East Africa. Other countries were ready. They were saying, ‘bring it to us,’ but we wanted it here and now. The infrastructure is a good base for 2027 [Africa Cup of Nations],

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Despite the challenges we had, the competition was a must in this region. We wanted to know which problems we could have in this region because we believe in our people, and whatever challenges we may have, we will fix them,” he remarked.

Up next for continental football is the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) that will be held in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026.