South Sudan prepares to face Kenya in 2025 CHAN zone qualifiers

Writer: Michael Daniel | Printed: October 10, 2024

Eleven nations within the CECAFA Zone will battle within the qualifiers for the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2025

The primary leg of this extremely anticipated match will happen between October 25-27, 2024, with the return leg scheduled for November 1-3, 2024.

The draw, carried out by the Confederation of African Soccer (CAF) in Cairo, has set the stage for an thrilling competitors amongst 11 groups in East Africa.

The winner of the South Sudan-Kenya match will advance to face the victor of the Rwanda-Djibouti matchup.

In the meantime, Burundi will compete in opposition to Somalia, with the winner taking up Uganda, which has mechanically certified for the second spherical resulting from its excessive rating.

In one other pairing, Ethiopia will go up in opposition to Eritrea, and the winner will meet the victor of the Sudan-Tanzania match.

The second spherical of qualifiers is about for December 20-29, 2024.

The CHAN match, which showcases solely native gamers from home leagues, is distinct from different main competitions just like the Africa Cup of Nations, the place worldwide gamers are eligible.

This format not solely permits native expertise to shine on a continental stage but additionally promotes the event of regional soccer.

For South Sudan, the qualifiers current a possibility to spotlight the energy and depth of its home league.

The idea of the CHAN match was launched on September 11, 2007, throughout a CAF Government Committee assembly in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Launched in 2009, the match goals to supply native gamers with a platform to characterize their international locations and improve the visibility of their nationwide leagues.

Since its inception, the competitors has expanded from 8 to 18 groups, starting with the 2022 version.

Traditionally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Morocco have dominated the CHAN, every profitable two titles.

They’re adopted by Tunisia, Libya, and the present champions, Senegal, who’ve every claimed the trophy as soon as.

Senegal made historical past as the primary West African nation to win the CHAN title, defeating Algeria on penalties throughout the match held from January 13 to February 4, 2023, after their triumph within the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.