Residents of Rubavu District and surrounding areas are excited about hosting the forthcoming 2016 Africa Nations Championships CHAN. Rubavu will host Group D, which includes Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda and Mali.

The fourth edition of CHAN is slated for January 16-February 7 in three different regions of the country including the City of Kigali, Rubavu and Huye.

Rubavu is near the DR Congo border where the residents speak Kinyarwanda, Lingala, French and Swahili and it is a business town.

The town is bustling with excitement and activity as people anxiously wait to cash in on the opportunities that will come with hosting some CHAN games.

 The area hosted a warm up game between Cameroon and Amavubi which ended in 1-1 draw last Wednesday before hosting the Rwanda, DR Congo tie, which was watched by a mammoth crowd at the newly refurbished 5,300-seater Umuganda stadium— on Sunday.

Rubavu is well known as for producing the biggest football talents—the area is nicknamed ‘Brazil’ because of producing players with exceptional talent compared to players from other parts of Rwanda.

Area residents are excited that their town is hosting Africa’s second biggest international football tournament.

"I am so excited to see this big event coming to our country and Rubavu in particular. It is going to be my first time to see big soccer stars. This shows that soon we shall enjoy the game that we have been watching on TV,” said Eric Mwumvaneza, a Rubavu football fan.

He noted that Rwandans are eagerly waiting to watch CHAN live in the country, and he hopes that Amavubi will walk away with the prestigious continental trophy.

CHAN 2016 will be the third Confederation of African Football (CAF)-sanctioned tournament that is hosted in Rwanda after the U-20 Africa Youth Championship in 2009 and the U-17 version in 2011.

The Mayor of Rubavu District, Jeremie Sinamenye told this paper that they are ready to host the big event.

"We hope to host a memorable event because our country has demonstrated capacity to host international soccer tournaments. I look forward to watching the tournament live unlike on televised screens," he said.

Organisers say Rwanda is committed to host a successful tournament. Infrastructure to host the event has been upgraded to a state-of-the-art state.

Sinamenye added that, "Rwanda takes security very seriously, and we shall ensure that everyone is safe throughout the tournament.”