By Sports Writer
FAZ aspiring president Blackwell Siwale has called for restructuring of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) to make it more meaningful.
Speaking with The Independent Observer, Siwale said the purpose of introducing CHAN was to develop young talent in order to strengthen local leagues.
He said one of the areas that needs restructuring is the age limit.
“Currently, CHAN has no age limit, this means that we can continue to take tired legs to that tournament as long as we win the trophy. But the purpose of CHAN is to expose young talent. I therefore call for age limit so that all young African footballers can be given chance.
“Alternatively, if we fail to put age limit, we should just scrap off CHAN tournament altogether and channel the resources towards the development of women football,” he said.
The African Nations Championship (CHAN) is a tournament in which the national teams exclusively feature players who ply their trade in the domestic league of their home country.
Therefore, apart from players based in Europe and other leagues abroad, even players who play in other African leagues are not eligible to represent their home country in the championship.
In 2007, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) officially announced the introduction of CHAN, to strengthen the domestic leagues in Africa, which have been overshadowed by the European leagues.
The first CHAN tournament was held in 2009. It featured 8 teams (Ivory Coast, Libya, Senegal, Ghana, DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and was hosted by Ivory Coast.
The Democratic Republic of Congo made history as the first ever winners of CHAN, beating Ghana 2-0 in the final.
