3 February 2011
The second edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) begins in Sudan on Friday with the host country taking on Gabon in Group A in Khartoum.
DR Congo enter the tournament as defending champions, having beaten Ghana 2-0 in the final of the maiden competition in Cote d’Ivoire in 2009.
The 16 competing teams have been split into four groups of four sides, and will play each other on a round-robin basis, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the quarterfinals.
Sudan will expect to top their Group A having assembled an experienced squad of players, mostly selected from top sides Al-Hilal and Al-Merreikh, both of whom have had decent success in continental competition in recent years.
The side is coached by Mohamed Abdalla Ahmed, who is in his second spell with the national team.
Gabon will be making their maiden appearance at CHAN after failing to qualify for the inaugural event in Cote d’Ivoire.
The full Gabonese side that has been so successful in international football over the last few years is dominated by overseas-based stars, and so we will see a new generation of international footballers from the country in Sudan.
Also in Group A are Algeria, also in their first event. The majority of the players in their squad come from the Entente Sportive de Stif club, who appeared in the group stages of the 2010 African Champions League. It is perhaps more surprising that Champions League semifinalists JS Kabylie have given just three players to the Algerian CHAN squad.
The side will be coached by the current head of the Algerian national team, Abdelhak Benchikha.
Rounding out the pool is Uganda, who are coached by Scotsman Bobby Williamson. He has worked wonders with the full national side, who are genuine contenders for qualification for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Williamson was dealt a blow ahead of the tournament when defender Edward Ssali was ruled out with a heart problem, and the coach also decided to ignore the League’s top-scorer, Tony Odur, and the man who was instrumental in getting them to the CHAN finals, after the player missed the Nile Basin Trophy in January.
Group B contains Ghana, South Africa, Niger and Zimbabwe, with both the Ghanaians and Zimbabweans in their second tournament.
New Edubiase United striker Stephen Manu is the only surviving member from the Ghana side that finished runners-up two years ago, but the most notable name in their line-up is goalkeeper Sammy Adjei, who has been a regular with the full national side for much of his career.
The squad, coached by Herbert Addo, has been preparing for the event in Kenya, where their three matches against local club sides yielded a win, a loss and a draw.
South Africa coach Simon Ngomane has selected an extremely inexperienced squad of players, many of whom campaign in the third tier of South African football, as club commitments in the Premier League and First Division in the country meant the best of the nation’s talent was not released for CHAN.
There are a few older heads, players who are deemed surplus to requirements at their Premier League clubs, but in the main it is a group of youngsters, with the eye very much on the future. They warmed-up for the tournament with a 1-1 draw against an experimental Swedish side, which was a decent result indeed.
Niger beat Nigeria to qualify for the 2011 CHAN, proving that there is no shortage of quality in their side.
It is a first-ever visit to a continental championship for the side and will be a great experience for the players. The side is led by coach Harouna Douala, who took his side to Algeria for a friendly recently, but lost 4-1.
Zimbabwe narrowly missed out on the semifinals of the 2009 CHAN after playing to three draws.
It was an excellent showing from the side as they drew 2-2 with eventual runners-up Ghana, and 1-1 with soon-to-be-champions DR Congo.
The Class of 2011’s build-up has been disrupted though as players at one stage boycotted training due to the non-payment of allowances, while many of those who competed in the 2009 event are now plying their trade in South Africa, and so will not be eligible for this year’s tournament.
Group C looks a tight one between defending champs DR Congo, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Mali.
DR Congo is made up mostly of players from the TP Mazembe club, who have claimed the 2009 and 2010 African Champions League titles, and who finished runners-up to Inter Milan at the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup.
A total of 11 players from Mazembe have been named in the DR Congo’s squad, while coach Santos Mutubile Ditunga also named six players from 2010 domestic League winners AS Vita Club.
Cameroon, making their maiden appearance, are coached by Emmanuel Doumbe, who named his 23-man squad after a training camp that involved 35 players selected from the MTN Elite One.
The side will be led on the pitch by Tiko United midfielder Valentine Atem, who does have some overseas experience having played in Germany and Ghana in the past.
Cote d’Ivoire hosted the inaugural CHAN finals in 2009, but had a disappointing tournament on home soil.
They finished bottom of their pool after a draw and two defeats, and finished last out of the eight teams on show.
Coach Kouadio Georges was hampered in choosing his 23-man selection for 2011 by the unstable political situation in the country, but he will be hoping his side can at least register their first CHAN win in Sudan.
As much of the full Mali side is made up of European-based players, there will be a lot of new talent on display in Sudan, and they will start the tournament as underdogs in their pool.
Little will be expected of them, but if they can spring a surprise it would provide a major boost to the country’s football.
Finally, Group D will see Senegal, Angola, Tunisia and Rwanda go head-to-head for a place in the semifinals.
Senegal were semifinalists at the 2009 CHAN where they eventually lost 7-6 to Ghana in a penalty shoot-out.
The side will be hoping to do better this time round with what should be one of the strongest squads in the tournament. Coach Joseph Koto has selected a squad that is made up predominantly of players from the Niary Tally club in Dakar.
The full national side have been in blistering form over the last 12 months and Koto will be hoping that the confidence from there will be filtered down to his CHAN squad.
Tunisia have been in camp in Morocco ahead of the tournament, and coach Sami Trabelsi has been pleased with their preparations.
The Tunisian League has taken a break so that the best players, especially those from top side Club Africain, can compete for the country.
Angola is led by Lito, who in January was appointed head coach of the Palancas Negras, taking over from caretaker coach Zeca Amaral.
The country has been preparing for CHAN in Brazil for a month, and will be well-drilled by the time they reach Sudan.
Rwanda have an experienced tactician in the form of Ghanaian Sellas Tetteh. Most of their players come from the APR club, which led to the squad only getting together a week before the CHAN tournament started as APR were involved in the African Champions League the weekend before.
Also in the squad are two players Emery Bayisenge and Faustin Usengimana who played for the Rwandan side at the recent African Under-17 Championships, which they hosted and reached the final, going down 2-1 to Burkina Faso.
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