CAF announces new dates for CHAN 2025

The championship, which is for domestic-based players, was initially set to be held from February 1 to 28 but was delayed to give the hosting nations time to ensure facilities are ready.

The announcement of the new dates was made after the CAF Executive Committee met on Monday in Rabat, Morocco, chaired by President Dr Patrice Motsepe.

Kenya is in Group A alongside two time champions Morocco and DR Congo, Angola and Zambia.

DR Congo and Morocco lead with most titles of the championship with two crowns each while Senegal, the reigning champions, won their first CHAN title in 2022.

Senegal will launch their title defence in group D that has Congo, Sudan and Nigeria.

Other co-hosts Tanzania are in pool B alongside Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, and Central African Republic.

Uganda will face Niger, Guinea and two other opponents in group C, who will be known after the completion of the qualifying phase.

Libya and Tunisia had already withdrawn from the finals, a decision Citizen Digital understands was related to clubs releasing players and the resulting disruption to their domestic leagues.

Two teams will be picked to fill Group C, after the completion of the additional qualifiers that will feature Algeria, Comoros, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, and South Africa.

The exact dates for these qualifiers remain unclear.

In addition to setting new CHAN dates, the CAF Executive Committee also approved that the Women’s Futsal Africa Cup of Nations will take place in Morocco from 22 April to 30 April 2025, with the two finalists qualifying for the FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup in the Philippines.

The African football governing body also announced that the CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations will expand from 12 to 16 teams starting in 2025.