CHAN
CHAN 2022 draw holds on Thursday at undisclosed venue
CAF has disclosed that the draw for the qualifying series for the 2022 African Nations Championships (CHAN) which final tournament will be held next January in Algeria.
The statement is however silent on the venue for the draw which was originally to hold alongside that of AFCON 2023 qualifiers last month in South Africa. The African Nations Championship is solely for nationals of African countries who feature in the domestic competitions.
The final tournament will also have an unusual format of 18 teams instead of 16. No reason was offered for the change of format.
According to CAF, there will be five groups in the final tournament. Three of the groups will have four teams while the other two groups will feature three team of which only the leaders will advance to the quarter finals.
But in the three groups of four teams, both the leaders and runners-up will advance to the quarter finals.
The Central (set to include Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe) and Western A (set to include 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 seem to be having a knock-on effect on the CHAN finals, which are scheduled for 8-31 January 2023.
Qualifying spots for CHAN 2022
- 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
Ghana and Nigeria are paired together for the third time in the qualifying series for the African Nations Championship. They had met in the 2009 and the 2022 series. The aggregate results were in Ghana’s favour.
First in the 2009 qualifiers, Nigeria squandered a 2-0 first-half lead in Accra and lost 3-2. But going into the return leg played in Calabar, they could not score a goal that could have seen them through on away goal rule as they ended the match 0-0.
In the last edition, Nigeria for the 2023 edition, Nigeria lost 2-0 in Accra but levelled up in Abuja after a late 2-0 win. But in the eventual penalty shoot-out, the Nigerian team lost 5-4.
Will they overcome Ghana this time?
There will be no qualifying series for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in North Africa. This is sequel to the withdrawal of Algeria and Egypt.
With the region entitled to three teams, the remaining three – Morocco, Tunisia and Libya qualify automatically.
The age-long rivalry has again been rekindled as the draw for the 2025 African Nations Championship has pitched Ghana and Nigeria together.
Both teams have a rivalry that dates back to 1951 and will have a confrontation that determines which country will qualify for the tournament which is opened only to domestic players.
It is also a measure of the relative strength of the domestic leagues of the countries. Ghana and Nigeria will play just in the second round of the West Africa Zone B qualifier while Togo and Benin will the first round and the winner play against Niger Republic.
The rivalry of Nigeria and Ghana has gone beyond sports, especially in football, It extends to the culinary industry as each claims to be better in the cooking of Jollof rice, hence the ‘Jollof Rice’ controversy.
In another West Africa Zone B qualifiers, Cote d’Ivoire will face Burkina Faso. The first round of qualifiers will be played on the weekend of 25 – 27 October and 01 – 03 November 2024, with the second round confirmed for 20 – 22 December and 27 – 29 December 2024.
Three nations qualify for the tournament from each zone except the East, where one country qualifies with co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Finals to be played from Feb 1-28, 2025 in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kampala.
North Region
Libya, Morocco and Tunisia qualify automatically
West A region
First Round
- Sierra Leone v Liberia
Second Round
- Sierra Leone or Liberia v Senegal (holders)
Mauritania v Mali
Guinea v Guinea-Bissau
West B region
First Round
Togo v Benin
Second Round
Togo or Benin v Niger
Ivory Coast v Burkina Faso
Ghana v Nigeria
Central region
Second Round
Equatorial Guinea v Congo Brazzaville
Central African Republic v Cameroon
Chad v Democratic Republic of Congo
East region
First Round
Burundi v Somalia
Ethiopia v Eritrea
Sudan v Tanzania (co-hosts)
South Sudan v Kenya (co-hosts)
Djibouti v Rwanda
Second Round
Burundi or Somalia v Uganda (co-hosts)
Ethiopia or Eritrea v Sudan or Tanzania
South Sudan or Kenya v Djibouti or Rwanda
South region
First Round
Zimbabwe v Eswatini
Lesotho v Namibia
Second Round
Zimbabwe or Eswatini v Madagascar
Lesotho or Namibia v Angola
Mozambique v Zambia
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