The 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) will be held from January 16-February 7 in Rwanda.

The Confederation of African Football set the dates with a year to kickoff while Ghana will look to better their second place in the last edition. 

Joy Sports understands that a Caf delegation will soon visit Rwanda to monitor progress being made by the hosts.

Rwanda Football Federation (Ferwafa) secretary general Olivier Mulindahabi has been expressing his excitement about the countdown to the games. 

“We are excited about the confirmation dates and we are looking forward to hosting a successful tournament,” he told Supersport.

Mulindahabi revealed that the three-week event will be hosted in four stadiums across the country, including national stadium Amahoro, Kigali Regional Stadium and the newly refurbished Huye and Umuganda (Rubavu) Stadium.

Mulindahabi also revealed that the official tournament website will be launched on March 15 and advertising will commence on the same day across different platforms, including billboards and social media.

Morocco, who were supposed to host the just concluded 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, are set to send a draft contract to Ferwafa in a bid to partner Rwanda to help with the preparations of this prestigious tournament.

Rwanda will also send a delegation to South Africa, hosts of the 2014 edition, to establish a learning experience that will help organise a successful tournament.

This is the first time Rwanda is hosting a senior continental tournament having hosted the 2009 African Youth Championships and the 2011 Africa under-17 championships, which qualified the Junior Wasps to the 2011 Fifa under-17 World Cup in Mexico.

The Chan tournament is a continental showpiece that attracts 16 teams, featuring players who play in their domestic leagues.

Ivory Coast held the inaugural edition in 2009 before Sudan (2011) and South Africa (2014) hosted the next two.

Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia and Libya have each won the title in the respective years.

 

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