The long-awaited African Nations Championships (Chan) officially opened on Saturday, August 2, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with the hosts taking on Burkina Faso.
The event will be hosted by three East African countries (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) under the Pamoja umbrella Uganda plays their opening match against Algeria on August 4, at Namboole stadium.
The Cranes are pooled in group C alongside South Africa, Algeria, Guinea and Niger. The 2024 Chan, which features only domestically-based players, is being used as a rehearsal for the 2027 Afcon, which is planned to be hosted by the three East African states.
It is the first time for the three countries to host a football tournament of this magnitude. This event was initially set to take place in February this year but it was pushed to August to give host countries ample time to complete the renovations of venues and training grounds.
According to the Local Organising Committee (LOC), headed by the minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni, the country is ready for the event. Last Friday at Kololo ceremonial grounds, President Museveni declared the event open and launched the official jersey, website and logo before a crowd that consisted of sports legends, fans and politicians.
Interestingly, Peter Ogwang, the state minister for Sports, absurdly disclosed that there will be no tournament mascot because the three host countries couldn’t agree on the tournament mascot.
However, he promised that the issue will be resolved by the time of the 2027 Afcon. Before the launch, many football enthusiasts were concerned about the lack of publicity and hype for a tournament of this magnitude.
Ogwang, however, reassured fans that there will be massive branding for the event starting this week. Incidentally, each of the host countries deposited $13m (Shs 47bn) to Caf as a commitment fee for hosting the tournament and this left the East African states facing financial hardships.
Nonetheless, I have also been reliably informed that President Museveni successfully persuaded Caf to allow Uganda use and control the commitment fee. Still, that does not take away the fact that the local organisation committee is under pressure to secure an extra Shs 8bn from the government, which is necessary for funding both the opening game and the third-place play-off game at Namboole.
For the Uganda Cranes preparations, Ogwang said all the funding for the team’s preparations was fully secured and he expects the team to perform well. For the record, the Cranes have qualified for every Chan tournament since 2011, but the team has never gone past the group stages.
Will this be the time for Uganda to get out of the group? You are free to make your own predictions. And with the local organisation committee releasing ticket prices at Shs 10,000 (ordinary), Shs 30,000 (VIP) and Shs 50,000 (VVIP), I expect fans to storm Namboole in big numbers.
IMPORTANCE OF CHAN, AFCON
Although the three East African countries won the bid to host Chan and Afcon, they did not meet the required Fifa and Caf standards. This forced Caf to reschedule the event from February to August, 2025, giving the organisers ample time to work on the sports facilities.
As of now, Namboole is more than ready to host the Group C matches, the quarterfinal game, and the third-place playoff match. The delay has also given Uganda a chance to work on the four training grounds, namely Kadiba Fufa stadium, Kyambogo University sports ground, Wankulukuku, and Kampala International School (KISU).
By the time both Chan and Afcon 2024 are done, Uganda will be having two additional state-of-the-art stadia, namely, Hoima city stadium and Akii-Bua stadium in Lira. The two ultra-modern sports facilities are planned to be completed by December, 2025, two years before the kick-off of the 2027 Afcon.
Afcon is set to be played at Namboole and Hoima city stadium, but Akii-Bua Stadium will be used as a contingency facility. This is also the same situation with the co-hosts. Kenya, for example, upgraded Kasarani sports centre as well as Nyayo stadium, while Tanzania upgraded Benjamin Mkapa stadium and Amani stadium in Zanzibar.
Besides sports facilities, Uganda is also set to benefit from the road network, which the government is expected to work on before the 2027 Afcon. This is one area where Uganda is lagging behind Kenya and Tanzania.
The country is also set to benefit from upgraded hotels and selected hospitals, plus the tourism industry, as the host of visitors might visit. If Uganda successfully hosts this event, it could potentially pave the way for the country to host other international sports events.
