CAF impressed with Rwanda's CHAN preps

Confederation of African Football (CAF) officials have expressed satisfaction with Rwanda’s preparations for the upcoming 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) that will be held from January 16-February 7. Speaking at a media briefing at Ferwafa headquarters, yesterday, CAF Media Director Junior Binyam said, “We have never had a doubt about Rwanda hosting CHAN. This decision was based on past experience of hosting several continental competitions. “We are impressed with the progress of preparations, there is a few things that are yet to be completed but we are confident everything will be on time.” Binyam, alongside CAF Competitions Director Shereen Arafa, Tarek El Deeb (CAF IT Director) and Iman Said (CAF Marketing Officer) toured the country from Monday to Wednesday to examine the four host stadiums including Amahoro and Kigali regional stadium in Kigali, Huye stadium in Huye and Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu. They also inspected, among many other facilities, training stadiums, hotels, security and transport details. On Monday, the delegation that flanked by Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) president Vincent Degaule and secretary general Olivier Mulindahabi, visited Rubavu to check on the Umuganda stadium before heading to Huye on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they visited both Amahoro and the Kigali regional stadiums in Kigali. The Local Organizing Committee vice president and spokesman Emmanuel Bugingo (Director of Sports at the Ministry of Sports and Culture) said, “In general, construction and renovation works are progressing well. “Our target is to be ready by the end of October and, according to the current trend, we feel that we shall meet the deadline. It is the general impression.” The first round of CHAN qualifiers commences on the weekend of June 19-21 with games across the African continent with 42 countries in contention for the available 15 slots. In East Africa, Burundi will be up against Djibouti while Uganda will take on Tanzania. Kenya will face off with Ethiopia while Sudan already received a bye to the next round. The biennial tournament is designed exclusively for players who feature in their domestic leagues. The first edition was held in 2009 in Ivory Coast with Democratic Republic of Congo emerging winners. Tunisia were crowned champions at the 2011 edition in Sudan while Libya won last year’s edition in South Africa after beating Ghana 4-3 on penalties in Cape Town. editorial@newtimes.co.rw