Kenya expedites stadium renovations ahead of the 2025 CHAN championships

Nairobi, 

Wednesday, 2 October, 2024 

McCreadie Andias 

Kenya is on the move on preparations to co-host the 2025 African Nations Championships (CHAN) championships alongside Tanzania and Uganda. 

The highly anticipated tournaments featuring African leagues - based footballers, will take place February 1-28th.

Earlier today, Sports CS Kipchumba Murkomen, in a meeting with a technical team from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), discussed the programmes and preparations ahead of the tournament. 

The CAF technical committee is in the country to assess Kenya's readiness to co-host the CHAN tournament. 

CS Murkomen noted that two stadiums including the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani and Nyayo Stadium alongside 5 training grounds will host the events. 

"We're on schedule to complete the upgrading of all the facilities by the end of November."Murkomen said. 

The CS further noted that the Sucess of the event called for a collaborative approach between CAF and the hosting nations. 

" Close collaboration with CAF is key in ensuring that we get everything right every step of the way. He said. 

Murkomen added that hosting the international tournament will not only provide Kenya with international spotlight,but the legacy of infrastructure development that comes with it benefits the local game for a long time.

The qualifiers for CHAN will kick start between October 25-27th and end in December 2024.

The participating nations in CHAN must consist of players playing in their national Leagues competitions.

Each teams will learn their group opponents for the 2025 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers when the draw is held on October 9.

According to a statement by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the highly anticipated draw will be conducted at 2 pm East African time (11:00 GMT).

Kenya, along with Uganda and Tanzania, will participate in the CECAFA regional qualifiers as part of their preparations to host the main tournament in 2025.

However, with the CECAFA region guaranteed four teams in the final competition, one more team from the region will join Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, who automatically qualify as hosts.

Other regions across Africa will also be represented in the CHAN qualifiers, with the WAFU A and WAFU B zones covering West Africa, UNAF representing North Africa, UNIFFAC for Central Africa, and COSAFA covering Southern Africa.

Each of these regions will have three qualifying teams. 

Teams that progress from the qualifications stage will compete in the second round, set for December 20-22, with the return leg taking place on December 27-29, 2024.

Matches will be played on a home-and-away basis adding an extra layer of drama and excitement for football fans across Africa.

The CHAN tournament, which has been held every two years since its inception in 2009, offers a unique platform for players who are based in their domestic leagues.

It provides a spotlight for local players to showcase their skills on a continental stage.

Over the years, CHAN has grown in stature and become a prestigious competition, with the 2023 edition hosted in Algeria drawing significant attention from global audiences.

CAF has continued to invest in the CHAN competition, with an emphasis on improving its commercial value and fan engagement.

A notable development has been the 60% increase in prize money, with the winners of the tournament set to walk away with $2 million (approximately Ksh 257 million).