The African Nations Championship, also known as CHAN 2024, is about to conclude after exciting matches.
The tournament’s champion will be determined after the match between Madagascar and Morocco. So, when and where will this match take place?
Which channel can football fans who want to watch follow this match on?
THE PURPOSE OF THE TOURNAMENT
CHAN 2024 is also known as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship or the 2024 African Nations Championship. The currently ongoing tournament is its 8th edition.
In this tournament featuring stars from domestic leagues, countries compete with various national team players. However, star players usually do not participate in this tournament as they often play football abroad.
Although the tournament is taking place this year, the reason it is called CHAN 2024 is due to a postponement. Originally scheduled to be held from February 1-28, 2025, hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, the tournament was postponed.
The reason for the tournament’s postponement was Kenya’s… [The text cuts off here. The common reason cited was logistical and preparedness issues].
WHERE IS THE TOURNAMENT BEING HELD?
The 2024 African Nations Championship was initially planned to be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
From these three countries, Nairobi from Kenya, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar City from Tanzania, and Kampala from Uganda were selected as the host cities for the tournament matches.
Uganda opened the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala to the tournament players. Kenya is hosting the tournament with the Moi International Sports Centre (Kasarani) and the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
Tanzania has opened the 60,000-capacity Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam and the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar City for the tournament players.
TEAMS THAT QUALIFIED FOR THE TOURNAMENT
A total of 19 teams from 6 regions qualified for the tournament.
From the North African region, Morocco (champion of the 2018 and 2020 editions and this year’s finalist) and Algeria participated.
The West African region was divided into two separate groups.
From the first West African group, Senegal (the 2022 champion), along with Guinea and Mauritania, joined the tournament.
From the second West African group, Nigeria, Niger, and Burkina Faso earned the right to compete.
From the southern region of the continent, South Africa, this season’s finalist Madagascar, Angola, and Zambia competed.
The teams from the central region are the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Congo.
Finally, from the eastern region of the continent, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda participated as hosts.
THE DRAW AND GROUP DETERMINATION
After the participating teams were finalized, the draw ceremony took place on January 15, 2025, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi.
In this draw, the seeded teams were Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, and Uganda. Three teams were seeded due to hosting, and Senegal earned this right as the previous tournament’s winner.
In this biennial tournament, Pot A contained Morocco, Niger, Equatorial Guinea, and Madagascar; Pot B contained Mauritania, Guinea, Sudan, and Angola; Pot C contained the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, the Central African Republic, Algeria, and South Africa.
After the draw, Kenya, Morocco, DR Congo, Angola, and Zambia were placed in Group A; Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso in Group B; Uganda, Algeria, South Africa, Guinea, Niger in Group C; and Congo, Sudan, Senegal, and Nigeria in Group D.
GROUP STAGE AND QUALIFYING TEAMS
In Group A, Kenya finished top with 10 points, while Morocco qualified in second place with 9 points. Angola, Zambia, and DR Congo were eliminated.
In Group B, Tanzania finished top with 10 points, and Madagascar finished second with 7 points to advance to the quarter-finals. Mauritania, the Central African Republic, and Burkina Faso were eliminated.
In Group C, Uganda finished top with 7 points, while Algeria also advanced, having the same points as the third-placed team but qualifying on goal difference. South Africa, Guinea, and Niger were eliminated at this stage.
In Group D, the teams qualifying for the quarter-finals were Senegal and Sudan, both with 5 points. Nigeria and Congo were eliminated in the group stage.
KNOCKOUT STAGES AND THE FINALISTS
The tournament’s quarter-final matches were held in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Kampala. In the first quarter-final, Kenya and Madagascar drew 1-1; after extra time, the match went to penalties where Madagascar won 4-3 to advance.
Another quarter-final between Sudan and Algeria also ended 1-1 and went to penalties. Sudan won the shootout 4-2 to reach the semi-finals.
Morocco defeated Tanzania 1-0, and Senegal also managed to beat Uganda by the same scoreline.
In the first semi-final, Madagascar defeated Sudan with a goal in extra time to advance to the final. Their opponents in the final will be Morocco, who defeated Senegal 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
STANDOUT STATISTICS FROM THE TOURNAMENT
The tournament’s top scorer is 29-year-old Moroccan player Oussama Lamlioui with 4 goals. He is predicted to maintain this lead until the end of the tournament.
The team that scored the most goals in the tournament is Morocco with 10 goals. Senegal conceded only 2 goals, making them the team with the best defense.
Kenya, Algeria, Madagascar, Senegal, and Sudan lost only once, making them the teams with the fewest defeats. Morocco has the most wins, with 5 victories.
WHEN WILL THE TOURNAMENT FINAL BE HELD?
The CHAN 2024 final between Morocco and Madagascar will be held at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, in Nairobi. The match will be played on August 30th at 18:00 local time.
Tomorrow, Sudan and Senegal will compete for third place. This match will be played at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala at 18:00.
Senegal are considered favorites for the third-place match, while Morocco are seen as the favorites for the final.
WHERE CAN I WATCH THE MATCHES?
In Africa, the matches can be watched on channels like BeIN Sport, CANAL+, and Super Sport. The matches will be broadcast live in 51 African countries.
In Europe, only the Ziggo channel in the Netherlands and the Sport TV channel in Portugal will broadcast the matches live.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TOURNAMENT
This tournament is critically important both for discovering many talents in Africa and for the development of African football.
Held every two years, this tournament is significant for sponsorship deals and also provides a platform for players in domestic leagues to come to the fore.
Some talented young African players who don’t get playing time in major tournaments like AFCON are discovered through CHAN and start getting more minutes for their national teams.
Thus, they gain recognition to play for major African clubs or in European leagues.
African football has gained tremendous momentum in recent years. They have made incredible progress both in terms of players and national teams. Star players consistently prove themselves in the biggest leagues.
However, domestic leagues do not have the financial power to support these players. Therefore, tournaments like this are very important.