The Confederation of African Football (CAF) held a high-level consultative meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on 26 February 2025, bringing together key stakeholders from the three CHAN 2024 co-hosting nations—Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The meeting assessed progress on hosting preparations following a series of CAF inspection visits, with Kenya’s review conducted on 22-23 February, Uganda’s on 25-26 February, and Tanzania’s scheduled for 27-28 February.
The discussions focused on finalizing the hosting agreement, securing government guarantees, structuring Local Organizing Committees (LOCs), and addressing governance issues involving CAF, host governments, LOCs, and national federations. Kenya’s delegation was led by Principal Secretary for Sports, Eng. Peter Tum, who also chairs the Regional Technical Committee for CHAN 2024 and AFCON 2027.
Speaking after the meeting, Eng. Tum underscored the significance of the consultations in aligning preparations and ensuring a coordinated approach among the host nations.
“We are committed to delivering a well-organized tournament that meets international standards. This meeting was critical in ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned on key aspects, from infrastructure readiness to governance and operational planning,” he said.
“We have agreed on many issues ranging from the payment of hosting fees to stadia preparations. CAF has assured us that we are good to go as far as infrastructure is concerned. We are on the right track to host a spectacular tournament in Africa, and this event is bringing us closer together as East Africa,” Eng. Tum added.
Uganda’s Minister of State for Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang, emphasized that with the key commitments secured, the next phase is to refine the tournament’s operational details.
“We are now going to concentrate on managing the details of the tournament because it is now confirmed that all of us are ready for this tournament. For us, we say Pamoja CHAN 2024, Pamoja AFCON 2027—that’s the spirit we are moving with,” he stated.
Discussions also focused on facilitating the seamless movement of fans and CAF officials across the three host nations. Hon. Ogwang noted that technical teams, led by Eng. Tum, have been tasked with working out the modalities for enhanced regional integration.
“In terms of integration, we have tasked our technical teams, led by PS Eng. Tum, to ensure smooth travel for fans and CAF officials across our three countries, boosted by our common passport,” he added.
Tanzania’s Minister for Information, Culture, Arts, and Sports, Hon. Prof. Palamagamba John Aidan Mwaluko, affirmed that outstanding logistical issues had been resolved, with special documentation being developed to allow fans from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to move freely across borders during the tournament.
“We have agreed on some of the contentious issues and are now ready to host Africa in the United Republic of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda for CHAN 2024 in August and AFCON 2027. As East Africa Pamoja, we are ready to host these two tournaments, and we are finalizing special documents to allow our fans from the three regions to travel seamlessly,” he said.
CAF was represented by Director of Tournaments and Events, Mr. Samson Adamu, who reaffirmed CAF’s commitment to guiding and supporting the hosting process to ensure adherence to its tournament standards.
The meeting brought together Ministers and Principal Secretaries for Sports, Presidents and General Secretaries of football federations, Presidents of Local Organizing Committees, and Chairpersons of Infrastructure Committees from the three host nations. Among those in attendance were Uganda’s Minister of State for Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang, Tanzania’s Minister for Information, Culture, Arts, and Sports, Hon. Prof. Palamagamba John Aidan Mwaluko, Principal Secretary for Sports, Gerson Msigwa,Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) President Hon. Eng. Moses Hassim Magogo, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) President Wallace Karia, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Hussein Mohammed, Chair of Kenya LOC Nicholas Musonye, and CEO of the Secretariat Myke Rabar.
With all key agreements in place, focus now shifts to finalizing operational planning, enhancing infrastructure readiness, and strengthening regional coordination ahead of CHAN 2024 in August.
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