CAF officials to fly in for second inspection

Officials from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) are expected in the country for the second inspection visit from August 23-28 to assess the progress in preparations for the 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN), slated for January 16 to February 7.

Sunday, August 16, 2015
The Minister of Sports and Culture UWACU Julienne (L), FERWAFA president Vincent Nzamwita (R) along with CAF officials on their last visit and inspection of Kigali regional stadium. (File)

Officials from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) are expected in the country for the second inspection visit from August 23-28 to assess the progress in preparations for the 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN), slated for January 16 to February 7.

Among the priority areas the team will focus on, during their six-day visit, include detailed inspection of the hotels that will accommodate participating teams and the stadiums that will host the three-week tournament.

The high profile delegation will be led by Almamy Kabele Camara (Vice-President and CAF President Board CHAN Organization), Hicham El Amrani (CAF Secretary General), Tarek Deeb (IT Director), Junior Salomon Binyam (Communication Director), Wally Ismail (Director of Competition), Inas Fahmy (Services Manager - Responsible Travel / Hospitality and Transportation) and Iman Said (Manager Marketing & TV).

It is expected that after their visit, the officials will make their final inferences on these facilities and will present the official delegation to make the final draws of the tournament of which CAF Executive Committee has confirmed that it will be held November 18 in Kigali.

The sites which will be revisited include; Amahoro National Stadium, Kigali Regional Stadium, Huye Stadium and Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu, as well as hotels based in Rubavu, Huye and the City of Kigali.

The CHAN tournament is designed exclusively for players playing in their domestic leagues and will attract 16 nations of which 15 will qualify from a total of 42 countries participating in the ongoing qualifiers (June 15-October 25, 2015) to join hosts Rwanda.

The tournament is held every after two years—the first edition was held in 2009 in Cote d’Ivoire and was won by DR Congo. The second edition in 2011 in Sudan, saw Tunisia emerge the winners, while Libya won the third edition in 2014 in South Africa.

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