WITH 18 months left to the kick-off of the 2016 Africa Nations Championship (Chan), a hybrid grass pitch has been installed at Huye stadium.

The installation has been undertaken by Desso Sports Systems, a Fifa preferred producer of football turf and an international leader in innovative sports fields for football, rugby, hockey as well as tennis courts and multifunctional fields. The company has over 30 years of experience in this field.

 "With this type of pitch, Huye stadium will have a perfect pitch throughout the tournament thanks to the reinforcement of artificial fibres, Desso GrassMaster offers reliable pitches for all weather conditions,” speaking to Times Sport recently, Luis Barbosa, the Africa Affairs Coordinator of Desso Sports said.

 More than 450 clubs have already installed the system in their respective stadiums or training centers. Top clubs such as Arsenal FC, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, AZ Alkmaar, and RSC Anderlecht play on the Desso GrassMaster system. A number of matches during the Fifa 2014World Cup final in Brazil will be played on Desso GrassMaster pitches.

Besides Huye stadium, Amahoro, Kigali and Rubavu will be upgraded to host the Chan 16-nation tournament. It will be recalled that Caf President Issa Hayatou endorsed Rwanda to host the 2016 edition of Chan in January 2011 after the country staged two successful youth continental tournaments in a space of three years; 2009 Africa Youth championship and the African U-17 Championship two years later.

Chan, a tournament designed exclusively for footballers playing in their domestic leagues has since been held in Cote d’Ivoire (2009), Sudan (2011) and South Africa (2014).