4 February 2011
The 2011 African Nations Championship being staged in Sudan kicks-off this evening when the hosts take on Gabon in their opening encounter in Khartoum.
DR Congo will be defending the crown they won in Cote d’Ivoire two years ago, but this time face an extended field after CAF increased the number of participants from eight to 16 for this year’s event.
Sudan coach Mohamed Abdallah is pleased with the preparations for his side, and for the tournament as a whole, and is looking forward to tonight’s opening match.
“The first game will be hot with two teams in the field with a strong desire to win, but we’re mentally prepared,” Abdallah says.
Meanwhile, CAF President Issa Hayatou has declared Sudan ready to host the tournament and he is pleased with the efforts of the local organisers.
It’s a bit of a new trial because from eight participants, given the success of the first edition in Cte d’Ivoire; we have decided to double the number of participants, Hayatou says. What we have seen here makes us think that we are on the right path. The primary mission of CAF is to participate actively in the development of football across the continent, not leaving anyone behind. And in Sudan, we found authorities with an attentive ear.
Without them [the Sudanese government] there would be no competition. Sudan has made considerable efforts to accommodate the CHAN both in terms of sports facilities and infrastructure in the areas of security, hospitality, accommodation and catering. I must commend the head of the Sudanese Government for the huge support.
Sudan Football Association director, Dr. Moaatesem Gaafar hopes that a successful hosting of the CHAN tournament might open the way for a bid for the Africa Cup of Nations, which the country, a founder member of CAF, last hosted in 1970.
“We were the first country to host CAN in 1970 and we won it [actually Sudan hosted the inaugural Nations Cup in 1957], Gaafar says. Now the conditions are similar in the second edition for CHAN whose number of participating teams has double to 16 from the first edition held two years ago. So, we consider ourselves the first country to host the new edition of this tournament, so our players have to win this championship as they did it when they won the first CAN.
“It has been a long time since we last hosted any CAF events, so it was necessary to return to our past successful goals and I think this tournament will be the beginning of hosting more important football events in the near future,” Gaafar added.
