The third edition of the Orange African Nations Championship finally came to an end on Saturday February 1st 2013 and the surprise package was Libya who were crowned the new kings of African football.
Throughout the three weeks of the tournament, football fans around the world were treated to spectacular action designed and molded in the streets and backyards of African.
In winning the crown, Libya walked away with a cool $750 000 while Ghana secured $400 000 for finishing off as the runners up.
The Chan tournament is the first and only tournament of its nature that is aimed at providing a platform for home based football players to showcase their skills to the world.
the world. The tournament which had been originally scheduled for Libya had to be moved to South Africa due to political unrest in Libya.
It is held every two years and it is Africa’s second tier national team tournament exclusively for home based players to play competitively on an international level. It has in the past been regarded as the “Battle of the Leagues”.
In ensuring that the tournament went ahead without any glitches of sorts, financial or otherwise the South African government poured in close to R700 million towards the successful hosting of the CHAN event. The South African treasury released R164 million directly to the CHAN local organizing committee with R120 million channeled to the hosting cities while the committee held on to R44 million.
The tournament had its ups and downs and analysts have proffered divergent views. 73 goals (excluding penalties were scored) compared to 50 from 2011. Chan 2014 also improved its marketability that had the biggest broadcast coverage ever since its inception.
Chan 2014 Given FIFA A Class
The biggest highlight of Chan 2014 was the fact that it was accorded an ‘A’ international friendly class status by the world football governing body FIFA.
FIFA confirmed that unlike the CHAN tournaments in 2009 and 2011, the event in South Africa will receive full “A” game status and therefore allow the competing players to win caps and the countries to
CHAN 2014 Overview:
Three Weeks Of Drama, Debates And Debacles
Congratulations to Libya the 2014 CHAN Champions !!!
SOCCER