CHAN fixtures moved to accommodate Cecafa Cup

THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has proposed new dates for the African Nations Championships (CHAN) in order not to clash with this year’s Cecafa Challenge Cup due to start on November 24 in Kampala, Uganda.Cecafa’s Secretary General Nicholas Musonye confirmed the development yesterday after raising the issue with CAF’s competition committee.Musonye said, “CAF has agreed to shelve the CHAN fixtures in order not to clash with CECAFA. Burundi and Eritrea have already agreed to the new CAF schedule.”CAF’s CHAN manager and CAN assistant manager Amr Fahmy said that after discussions with the Secretary General Hicham El Amrani, the first leg fixtures will be held on December 14, 2012 while the second leg is set for January 4-6, 2013.By press time, Ethiopia and Kenya were yet to respond to the new CAF proposal.In a related development, newly appointed Kenyan Sports minister Ababu Namwamba has told fans that he held talks with Football Kenya Federation (FKF) chairman Sam Nyamweya and Cecafa Secretary General Musonye and they had agreed to bury the hatchet and ensure Kenya moves forward. “I want to assure football fans that Harambee Stars will participate in the Cecafa Senior Challenge in Uganda late this year,” Namwamba said.When contacted, Musonye said he had been in touch with the minister about the Cecafa tournament and also discussed matters affecting football in the region.