Uganda to know Chan rivals today
Uganda Cranes players celebrate after scoring a goal at Navbahor Stadium during the Uzbekistan intercontinental Navruz Cup on March 25, 2022. PHOTO/HANDOUT
What you need to know:
- Algeria will host the upcoming edition of Chan finals in January next year, and the new format is as usual as Caf’s ways.
Continental soccer body, Caf, are synonymous with arriving at some strange decisions over the years, and have not disappointed, yet again.
After announcing in between semifinal ties this month that the Caf Champions League final would be played in Morocco, home of one of the finalists; the Cairo body were at it again this week.
From the blue and without any clear explanation, Caf this week announced that the 2022 finals of Africa Nations Championship (Chan) would now feature 18 teams instead of 16.
The draw for the qualification to the tournament will be held today in Cairo, Egypt with Uganda set to face opponents from the Central Eastern Zone.
The aforementioned zone includes the likes of Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda and Ethiopia. Kenya are currently suspended.
Algeria will host the upcoming edition of Chan finals in January next year, and the new format is as usual as Caf’s ways.
According to the continental body, the finals tournament will have five groups; three of which will have four nations, while the other two will be comprised of just three teams. This means the top two from the four-team groups will be joined in the quarter-finals by the winners of the other two pools.
The Central (Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe) and Western A (Cape Verde, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal) zones will both have an extra qualifying slot under the revised format. Morocco will take part in the Northern Zone qualifiers as they bid to win the title for a third straight time, having defended it at the delayed 2020 finals which were held in Cameroon last year.
The delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with the World Cup in Qatar in November and December are clearly having a knock-on effect on the Chan finals.
Qualifying spots for Chan
Northern Zone:
2 places + hosts Algeria
Western Zone A: 3 places
Western Zone B: 3 places
Central Zone: 3 places
Central Eastern Zone: 3 places
Southern Zone: 3 places
