CAF President Patrice Motsepe upbeat over CHAN preparations

During his two-day visit on Thursday and Friday, Motsepe met the state presidents of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, as well as football officials from the three countries to assess the progress of infrastructure preparations for CHAN. 

The tournament will take place from 1-28 February 2025, and Motsepe believes this will be the most successful CHAN tournament since its inception in 2009.

"What we are going to do now is, we've got people permanently based in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, and they report to us all the time, but today I'm here specifically because the competition starts in a few weeks' time," said Motsepe.

"I've had very good feedback about the progress that has been made, and there is nothing – whether in Africa or in Europe or in America – that succeeds without challenges.

"But I'm confident that by the end of this month or, worse case scenario, early in the next month, whatever outstanding work that needs to be done will have been completed.

"This is going to be the most successful CHAN in the history of this competition."

This CHAN is also a dress rehearsal for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament, which the three countries will also host, and Motsepe says the sky will be the limit at the next edition of the continental showpiece.

"Remember, in 2027 the whole world, not just Africa, will be coming to Uganda. We had the AFCON in Côte d'Ivoire, and I'm very happy because there were 1.5 billion people all over the world watching the competition on TV," he noted.

"There were 2.4 billion digital views, and the benefit of the AFCON to Ivory Coast was $1.4 billion, which is an independent assessment or quantification of the enormous value [of hosting AFCON]."

READ: Gayton McKenzie targets forensic probe into SAFA finances