The African Nations Championship, known as CHAN, is a national-team tournament with one special rule: players must be registered with clubs in their own country's league.
Why CHAN exists
Most of Africa's best players play abroad, so domestic league players rarely get national-team chances. CAF created CHAN to showcase home-based players, raise the profile of African leagues and give coaches a reason to scout locally. The first edition was played in Ivory Coast in 2009.
Who can play
Only players registered with clubs in the domestic league of the country they represent are eligible. A Nigerian playing in Europe cannot play for Nigeria at CHAN, but a Nigerian playing in the Nigerian league can. That makes CHAN squads very different from Africa Cup of Nations squads.
Format
Qualifying is organised by CAF's regional zones, so teams mostly face their neighbours. The final tournament has been played every two years in recent cycles, with group matches followed by knock-out rounds. The 2024 edition was co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in 2025, a rehearsal for the same countries hosting AFCON 2027.
Who has done well
North African nations with strong domestic leagues, such as Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, have done well, as have DR Congo, who won the first edition. Senegal won CHAN for the first time in 2023.
Are CHAN matches full internationals?
CHAN matches are official CAF competition matches, but because squads exclude overseas-based players, many statistical databases (including the international results dataset we use) do not count them as full senior internationals. That is why CHAN games do not appear in our head-to-head records.
A pathway to the senior team
A strong CHAN can earn a domestic player a call-up to the senior national team or a transfer abroad. It is also a test of a country's league: nations with professional, well-organised leagues usually have the strongest CHAN teams. Read about becoming a professional footballer in Africa.