THE draw for the finals of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024, a tournament exclusively for players competing in their domestic leagues, will be held today at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will oversee the event, which begins at 08:00 PM. It will determine the groupings for the 18 teams that have qualified for the finals, including the co-hosts Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.

According to CAF’s competition calendar, the CHAN 2024 finals will be held from February 1 to 28 in the cities of Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Nairobi, and Kampala.

The participating teams in this year’s draw are Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Morocco, Guinea, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, Mauritania, Niger, Angola, Congo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Central African Republic, and DR Congo.

The draw will utilize three pots based on points accumulated by teams in previous editions of the tournament.

·         Pot 1: Morocco and Senegal

·         Pot 2: Guinea, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, and Zambia

·         Pot 3: DR Congo, Nigeria, Niger, Angola, Mauritania, Congo, Burkina Faso, and Central African Republic

Co-hosts Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda will not be included in these pots as they are pre-assigned.

This year’s finals mark the debut of three teams - Kenya, Congo, and Central African Republic. The remaining 15 teams have prior experience in the tournament.

Uganda and DR Congo lead the pack with seven appearances each in the finals. 

Morocco, Zambia, Rwanda, Niger, and Angola follow with five participations each, while Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Mauritania are entering for the fourth time. Tanzania will make its third appearance, and Madagascar will compete for the second time.

The CHAN 2024 finals will showcase teams from five CAF football zones:

·         West Africa (WAFU): Mauritania, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger, and Guinea (6 teams)

·         East and Central Africa (CECAFA): Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda (5 teams)

·         Southern Africa (COSAFA): Zambia, Angola, and Madagascar (3 teams)

·         Central Africa (UNIFFAC): DR Congo, Congo, and Central African Republic (3 teams)

·         North Africa (UNAF): Morocco (1 team)

West Africa leads with six representatives, followed by East and Central Africa with five.

North African teams have dominated the CHAN finals, winning four of the seven previous tournaments. Morocco has claimed the title twice, while Libya and Tunisia have each won once. Central African teams have won two titles, while West Africa has claimed one.

In this year’s tournament, Morocco is the sole representative from North Africa, as Algeria, Egypt, and Libya withdrew, and Tunisia did not qualify.

As the draw unfolds today, all eyes will be on how the groups are formed and which teams emerge as favourites to lift the CHAN 2024 trophy.