However, a junior national team might have to take the spot if that happens.

The eighth edition of the CHAN tournament is scheduled to take place in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania from 1 to 28 February.

The CHAN tournament is played by national teams made up of players from their domestic national leagues.

As of now, 17 teams have qualified for this tournament, including the hosts and defending champions, Morocco.

Two wildcard entries have yet to be decided, bringing the total number of teams to 19.

The news of Bafana Bafana’s participation in this year’s CHAN tournament just less than four weeks before the tournament kicks off comes as a shock since the South African Football Association (SAFA) had sent a letter to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2024, informing them that they will not be able to enter a team for the CHAN qualifiers.

They cited the congested Premier Soccer League (PSL) fixture programme (both in the Premier and National First Divisions) as their main reason for being unable to assemble a squad to participate in the qualifiers, which were concluded in December 2024.

But SAFA is not the only CAF member association to have withdrawn from participating in this year’s CHAN tournament; in North Africa, it’s only Morocco that has entered for this tournament.

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Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia are just some of the North African countries that had also excused themselves from participating in the CHAN, citing similar reasons to SAFA’s.

SABC Sport understands that the absence of Bafana Bafana and North African countries places the tournament in a difficult situation, as it has become extremely difficult to market it commercially and attract valuable broadcast platforms.

Plans are now being made for a mini tournament that could feature Bafana Bafana and seven other countries including Algeria, Egypt, Malawi, Gabon, Comoros and Gambia, which would decide the two available spots.

Indications are that Algeria and Egypt will send their junior national teams (U20), and this would leave SAFA to also follow that route, depending on the availability of the players, some of whom are already playing in the PSL.

The CHAN tournament comes at the right time for Amajita, as they are in desperate need of a preparation programme for the U20 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament, which will take place in Cote d'Ivoire in April 2025.

“SAFA has no comment on the matter,” that’s how SAFA responded when SABC Sport enquired about these developments.

The draw for the CHAN tournament is scheduled to take place on 15 January 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The countries that have qualified for CHAN so far:

CECAFA: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan.

WAFU A: Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania.

WAFU B: Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria.

Central Africa: Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic.

COSAFA: Angola, Zambia, Madagascar.

North Africa: Morocco (Qualified as defending champions).

SPHEPHELO-MAKHAYE

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