As the sun rises in the east, so did the euphoria, fanfare that comes with world’s most beautiful game dawn on the eastern side of the great motherland Africa, with the CHAN tournament.
And true to the ethos of “Ujama” the trailblazing ideology of the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere the founding president of the United Republic of Tanzania, Tanzania alongside Kenya and Uganda hosted the 2025 edition of the Caf Chan tournament this past month.
Ujama is a Swahili term that refers to fraternity, familyhood and it is that which formed the basis of the ideology that guided Julius Nyerere’s social and economic development policies. And that social fraternity showed itself with the 3 eastern brothers cohosting one of the biggest football showpieces on the great continent of Africa.
With Caf President Dr. Patrice Motsepe having met the 3 respective heads of state in Presidents William Ruto (Kenya), Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) prior to the tournament, football lovers were expectant as the Caf supremo had got assurances from the highest offices in the 3 host countries of a free-flowing tournament with all timelines being met in terms of completion of stadia and other complimentary infrastructure.
With Dr. Motsepe’s reign strictly calling for adherence to the highest standard in stadia infrastructure with the Ivory Coast Africa Cup Nations edition having been the initial benchmark that received plaudits across the global football community, the 3 eastern brothers knew exactly they had to deliver. With 5 magnificent venues from the giant 60-thousand-seater Benjamin Mkapa stadium in Dar es Salaam, Kasarani stadium in Nairobi with a 48 thousand capacity, Nelson Mandela stadium in Kampala 38 thousand, Nyayo stadium in Nairobi 18 thousand and finally Amaan stadium in Zanzibar 15 thousand, the stage was set for an enthralling competition.
From the passionate football on display to the marvelous support from the terraces that were painted in all manner of colors showcasing the diversity and beauty of the motherland, the tournament was indeed a spectacle. Democratic Republic of Congo supporters lit up fan parks with their aura and national colors.
In their encounter against Angola Kasarani stadium was a sea of Congolese colors, with both males and females doing their bit, and as one Congolese fan alluded “football is our culture, our unity”, just going to show how much the sport is a vehicle for good on the continent. Across the 5 venues fan parks were lit with fanfare bringing about the kind of enthusiasm that has not been met in previous Africa nations championships. With Swahili being the second most spoken language on the motherland and the eastern side being the heartland, the cohesion and fraternity amongst the fans was clearly evident.
With statistics showing there was a record number of viewers with well over 40 million people having watched the tournament with over 140 thousand having turned out at fan parks, the 3 eastern brothers no doubt have hosted the best CHAN tournament to date. African football is actually on the ascendency especially the last couple of years with the Dr. Motsepe presidency, who also spoke glowingly of the just ended tournament, giving light on how the football mother body is currently in discussion of a billion-dollar tv rights deal for 8 years.
That goes to show how the game is developing and for the 3 host countries, it was a wonderful preparation for the Africa cup of nations proper in a couple of months’ time, and one hopes the Nations cup will be a multiple time better.
