Di African Nations Championship (CHAN) wey dey happun evri two years go kick off for Algeria for 13 January.
No confuse am wit di Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) oda pan African competition wey dem dey call di African Cup of Nations.
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Dis na as kontris wey dey play for CHAN fit only use players wey normally dey play for local leagues.
So Algeria no fit use Riyad Mahrez and Senegal no go fit use Sadio Mane.
But before we enta dat one, di political kasala don dey create tension for di tournament. Why Morocco comot?
Holders no go come
Morocco na di two time defending champions but di North Africans no go make am for di hat-trick afta di Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) decide to withdraw – just one day before opening ceremony.
For dat last minute pull-out to make sense, you need to understand di political background.
Di relationship between Morocco and Algeria don get wahala for many decades, sake of plenti quarrel dem don get ova territory, but for August 2021, na wen mata scata pata-pata as Algeria break diplomatic ties and close dia airspace to Moroccan aircraft.
On 27 December, FRMF president and budget minister delegate Fouzi Lekjaa announce say unless di team fit land for di main city, Constantine gan-gan wia dem go play dia matches for Royal Air Maroc flight, di Atlas Lions go pull-out.
But none of di kontris decide to move from dia stand and Caf too no gree tok even though BBC don ask dem plenti times to clear di air on di mata.
Na FRMF finally break silence on 12 January bring statement wey say, “di Moroccan national team no fit travel go Constantine (Algeria) to play for di 7th edition of di African Nations Championship to fit defend dia title as di final authorisation of di Royal Air Maroc (RAM) flight wey be di official carrier for di Moroccan football team, from Rabat go Constantine neva dey confam”.
Wetin dis withdrawal go cause neva dey announced but Caf rulebook show say Morocco fit dey banned from di next CHAN. Caf neva ansa BBC call for comment.
Uganda and Libya bin also threaten say dem go withdraw from CHAN becos of legal and financial reasons but dem don solve dia own wahala and all di remaining teams dey expected to show.
Wit all di gbas-gbos evri wia, pipo wey dey bet like Algeria chance to win.
DR Congo, Mali, Cameroon and Libya na also ogbonge pre-tournament players.
A scout’s fantasy
We don already sabi say Riyad Mahrez and Sadio Mane no go dey. So if no ogbonge names no dey to ginger star power, wetin come be di point?
Well for di pipo wey dey eye future African stars, CHAN na must-see television.
Check out how Morocco national team perform for di 2022 Fifa World Cup for Qatar.
Nayef Aguerd, Achraf Dari and Jawad El Yamig all make ogbonge contributions to make Atlas Lions first in history African semi finals run.
Doz players too na im make Morocco win back to back CHAN cups for 2018 and 2020 and now dem don waka go European clubs West Ham United, Stade Brestois and Real Valladolid.
Although Cameroon no perform reach for Qatar but two of dia beta players Samuel Oum Gouet and Moumi Ngamaleu also comot from CHAN wia dem play for di 2016 tournament for Rwanda.
19 year old Yves Bissouma bin also dey for Rwanda wia im make one ogbonge contribution for di semi-finals.
Wen e score dramatic last-minute winner against di kontri dem born am, Ivory Coast, e turn household name for Mali, even though dem still lose di final to DR Congo.
French giants Lille bin don dey scout Bissouma for many years but im performance for CHAN make dem chook eye wella and ginger Les Douges to sign sharparly.
Apart from Bissouma wey don dey part of di English Premier League for ova four years and dey stay or Tottenham Hotspurs, oda players wey don follow match ground well-well for European clubs na Leicester City’s Patson Daka, RB Salzburg’s Sekou Koita and Braga’s Al Motasim Al-Musrati.
CHAN also dey important for intra-continent transfer market.
For instance, Mali Aliou Dieng and Tunisia Ali Maaloul don show for CHAN plenti times and now dem dey play for Al Ahly for Eypt, wey you fit argue be di biggest club for Africa.
Who be di stars dis year?
Talent dey no be small for di 2022 CHAN. For host Algeria, Ahmed Kendouci na one to watch.
Di 23 year old midfielder dey lead di Algerian league with eight goals and e dey known to be opportunistic threat.
Anoda beta goal scorer wey wan show imself na Ghanaian forward Daniel Afriyie.
Di 21 year old don already sign pre contract wit Swiss club FC Zurich but go fit play CHAN as technically e dey registered wit Ghanaian Hearts of Oak.
Afriyie score for all of Ghana four CHAN qualifiers and even go Qatar as unused substitute for di Black Stars World Cup waka.
Senegal Lamine Camara and Angola Zini na two players wey dia leg neva set finish but fit be key players for dia senior national teams for di near future.
Camara na all action ogbonge midfielder wey come from di Generation Foot academy wey comot Bayern Munich Sadio Mane, Watford Ismaila Sarr, and Tottenham Pape Matar Sarr.
Zini na more leggy striker wey don already get three goals for Angola seven matches for competitive senior matches and play some matches for Europe as dem loan am to AEK Athens
Di Format
You fit dey wonder wia dem dey play 2022 CHAN for January 2023.
Na coronavirus pandemic cause am, e create holdup for di international football calendar, as dem push CHAN back six months.
Dis na di seventh edition but na di first one Algeria go host. Di kontri dey reveal tear rubber football specific stadium to mark am.
Algiers Nelson Mandela stadium fit sit 40,784 and go host plenti important matches for di competition wey include di opening match and di final for 4 February.
Di oda three venues na di Miloud Hadefi stadium for Oran, di Mohamed Hamlaoui stadium for Constantine and di 19 May 1956 stadium for Annaba.
CHAN 2022 suppose get 18 kontris for di fiest time afta Caf executive committee vote to increase di competition for May.
But Morocco withdrawal don reduce dat number to 17 wey go scata di planed qualification format for di knockout stage.
Di kontris dey divided to two groups of four and three groups of three.
Group A and B go allow di two top teams go on but e no clear yet for C, D and E.
Caf first plan na say na only di top side from di three team group go go on but dat go mean na seven teams go enta quarter finals.
How organisers wan handle dis number wahala dey yet to be announced.
Dat na anoda reason to chook eye for di unique international competition.
Groups
Group A (Algiers): Algeria, Libya, Ethiopia, Mozambique
Group B (Annaba): DR Congo, Uganda, Côte D’Ivoire, Senegal
Group C (Constantine): Sudan, Madagascar, Ghana, Morocco (withdrew)
Group D (Oran): Mali, Angola, Mauritania
Group E (Oran): Cameroon, Congo, Niger
