By Victor Kanayo
Participating teams have begun to arrive at the venues of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), scheduled to kick off August 1, 2025, in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Two-time winners Morocco became the first team to arrive in Kenya, one of the three countries hosting the tournament.
Atlas Lions’ Arrival
The Moroccans touched down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Monday.
The early arrival of the Atlas Lions sets the tone for what promises to be an electrifying month-long competition, co-hosted for the first time by three East African nations.
Nigeria, Senegal In
Earlier, Senegal and Nigeria, in Group D, arrived in Tanzania.
The Moroccan delegation received a colourful welcome featuring traditional East African music and dancers, adding to the celebratory mood ahead of the tournament’s kick-off this Friday.
Gunning For Historic Moment
Winners on home soil in 2018 and again in Cameroon in 2021, Morocco are aiming to become the first nation to win the CHAN title three times.
Their opening match is set for Sunday, August 4, against Angola at the Nyayo National Stadium.
Drawn in a competitive Group A alongside hosts Kenya, DR Congo, Angola, and Zambia, the North Africans will be banking on their pedigree and recent form to make a deep run.
Morocco and DR Congo are the only nations to have lifted the CHAN trophy twice.
CAF Big Prize
Meanwhile, CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe has announced a significant financial uplift for CHAN, with the winner now set to receive a record $3.5 million, marking a 75% increase from the previous edition.
The total prize pool for this edition has been boosted to an unprecedented $10.4 million, representing a 32% rise in total rewards for the tournament, which is exclusively contested by players active in domestic leagues across Africa.
