Chan preparations are in full swing, says Rwanda
Rwanda players in a group photo.
What you need to know:
Four stadiums in different corners of the country where the matches will be played in the three-week tourney are being massively rehabilitated and spruced up.
Kigali. Rwanda says preparations for the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) next month are in full swing and that it wants to ensure the tournament, which will be hosted in the Cecafa region for the first time is a success.
Four stadiums in different corners of the country where the matches will be played in the three-week tourney are being massively rehabilitated and spruced up.
These include the Amahoro National Stadium in the heart of Kigali where the opening and final matches will be played and probably host the penultimate phase of the eagerly awaited soccer bonanza.
A spot survey of Amahoro Stadium by The Citizen indicated everything was being done to put it in the standards that would justify Rwanda hosting the tournament of such magnitude.
“ We can confidently say this stadium is now of international standard,” said Erick Kabeera, a Kigali resident as he took this reporter around the stadium early this week as casual workers put finishing touches on the rehabilitation work.
He said one condition given by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to the country to be allowed to host the competition was to have better playing grounds and that they should be spread across the country.
Although this would be the first big continental football bonanza to be organized here, the Amahoro stadium has since the late 1990s hosted several regional competitions in the past, including the Club Championship and the Challenge Cup.
Another stadium in Kigali where the matches will be played is Stade de Kigali at Nyamirambo on the western side of the capital city. Others are Rubavu Stadium in the western province and Huye Stadium in the southern province.
No East African country is known to have hosted the soccer tournament of this level and Rwanda will be the first, thanks to President Paul Kagame, an avowed soccer fan. The Rwanda leader has for years sponsored the Kagame cup, involving club champions in East and Central Africa.
The tournament will run from January 16th to February 7th and will involve 16 teams, including Rwanda. Others are Morocco, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Nigeria, Niger, Guinea, DR Congo, Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Mali, Uganda and Zambia.. The official drawing ceremony for the teams which qualified was held here on November 15th.
