CHAN
Confirmed! Morocco are out of CHAN
Reports from Morocco have it that the members of the country’s national team have dispersed from the Sale International Airport in Rabat after waiting in vain for a possible clearance from Algeria for them to fly in for the African Nations Championship which begins later this night.
The Algerian authorities failed to issue approval for the Moroccan team to travel to Constantine, where they were scheduled to play their group matches. The Confederation of African Football, CAF, also failed in their bid to convince the Algerian authorities on the need to allow the Moroccans to fly directly from Rabat.
The Morocco team was waiting for their flight at the Rabat-Sale International Airport on Friday morning, with all preparations for the trip being completed, pending travel approval from the Algerian government.
President of Morocco’s Royal Football Federation Fouzi Lekjaa had laid out the conditions for the team’s participation back in December, demanding that they be allowed to travel to the northeastern Algerian city of Constantine directly from Rabat on a Royal Air Maroc flight.
The airline is the official transport partner of all national Moroccan football teams.
On Thursday, Lekjaa said that all preparations to travel to Algeria had been made, and that the Moroccan team and technical staff were only awaiting approval from the host country.
Morocco are the defending champions of the tournament, and hold the most titles along with DR Congo.
President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe said on Friday that he did “everything possible” to convince Algerian authorities to allow entry to the Moroccan team.
“It makes me sad. I want Morocco in Algeria. I want these young boys to represent the people of Morocco and the people of Africa,” he told the press while in Rabat.
Lekjaa said the decision to deprive the Moroccan team of the right to defend their title is a “shame.”
Relations between Morocco and Algeria have been strained for decades. Algiers cut ties with Rabat in August 2021, misleadingly citing Rabat’s involvement in the wildfires that consumed Algeria that summer due to climate change.
The Algerian decision to sever ties also involved a ban on Moroccan aircraft entering Algerian airspace.
The CHAN tournament is set to kick off this evening with a game between Algeria and Libya.
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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