With the 2016 Chan tournament set to kick off in five days’ time in Rwanda, soka 25 east puts all the participating teams under microscopic examination and will highlight some the team’s major honours and records in CAF competitions and also players to look out for in the tournament. Over the next 4 days or so, we shall analyse and give impartial and objective verdicts on which teams are real contenders and who are just there to make up numbers. What is certain however is that Africa will have new Champions after holders Libya were eliminated by their North African rivals Morocco via a 4-0 drubbing. To start off, we discuss the contenders in Group A Host nation Rwanda are drawn in a very tough group alongside Gabon, Morocco and Ivory Coast. Group A is composed of teams that are potential frontrunners to claim the championship but then, only two teams can progress to the quarter finals.

ľ

Rwanda comdes into the Chan tournament with very little reputation in CAF competitions. Their only participation in the main Africa Cup of Nations came in 2004 in Tunisia where they lost the opening match 2-1 to Tunisia. They earned their first point in a 1-1 draw with Guinea. They beat the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final group game but it was not enough to see them through to the knockout stages. They have not made it to the Africa Cup proper since then. When the Chan tournament was first hosted by Ivory Coast in 2009, Rwanda failed to qualify. However they have managed to qualify in the 2011 edition but could not manage to get past the group phase. In 2014 they did not manage to qualify but were selected to host the 2016 Chan tournament. Are Rwanda contenders or pretenders? The Amavubi will feel this is their time to shine and win their first major tournament. And why shouldn’t they dream? The hosts have a partisan crowd on their side. With the likes of Jacques Tuyisenge, Yannick Mukunzi and Dany Usengimana leading the charge Rwanda might just cause a few upsets. Where will Rwanda finish in the group? The host nation are expected to put up a good fight in the group games but will very unlikely pass 4 points mark which is a not a guarantee passage to the next round given the calibre of opponents they face in the group.

The Panthers of Gabon have qualified five times for the Africa Cup of Nations, their first appearance coming in 1994 and most recent in 2015. They have also qualified for the 2017 edition as host nation. The furthest they have reached is the quarterfinal stage in 1996 South Africa and 2012 when they co-hosted with Equatorial Guinea. They have never qualified for the world cup tournament and this is their third participation at the Chan tournament previously appearing at the 2011 and 2014 edition. Their best performance at the CHAN coming in 2014 when they topped the group on 7 points drawing their first game against Burundi 0-0 before dispatching DR Congo 1-0 and Mauritania 4-2. The Panther were knocked out via a 5-2 defeat on post-match penalties. They come into the 2016 tournament with nothing to write about in terms of CAF honours but they carry a very serious threat with the likes of veteran goalkeeper Stephane Bitseki Moto, defenders, Steve Nzambe and Georges Ambourouet, forwards Allen Nono and Aaron Boupenza. Group A is tough as it is but Gabon can cause real problems to their opponents. Are Gabon contendors? Can they better their 2014 record and go all the way to claim their first major silverware?

Morocco fondly known as the Atlas Lions have a huge reputation as a great African giant in major competitions both at club and National level. Moroccan clubs such as Raja Casablanca have brought honours to the country in CAF competitions winning the CAF Champions league on three occasions in 1989, 1997 and 1999. Morocco have made 15 appearances at the main Africa Cup of Nations winning it only once in 1976. Morocco have also represented Africa at four FIFA World Cups with their best run coming in 1986 when they reached the second round becoming the first African team to do so. Their African Nations Championship (Chan) record is not very impressive. They failed to qualify for the first edition in 2009 but managed to qualify for the 2011 and 2014 events. Their best result was a quarterfinal appearance in 2014. They knocked out holders Libya to make it to this year’s tournament in Rwanda. Morocco carries an enormous tag of favourites in group A and will rely on the pace of its front attackers in the shape of Abdessalam Benjelloun and Mourad Batna of FUS Rabat, Abdelilah Hafidi of Raja Casablanca and Mohamed Ounajem of Wydad Casablanca. Can Morocco go all the way and win the tournament in Rwanda? They certainly have the players to cause problems for their opponents and I foresee them getting past the Group stages again.

Ivory Coast is the defending African Cup of Nations Champion having won it under the golden generation of Yaya Toure, Sol Bamba, Cheick Tiote, Wilfred Bony and Gervinho. Unfortunately for the Ivory Coast, their local contingent of players has never really risen to the occasions at the African Nations Championships. Having won the right to host the first CHAN event in 2009, the Elephants were disappointing in the group stage picking up only a point which eventually rooted to the bottom of the standings losing their first game to Zambia 3-0 and then losing to Tanzania 1-0 and drew 0-0 with West African rivals Senegal. They managed to qualify for the 2011 CHAN tournament in Sudan but again as in 2009, they did not make it past the group stages picking up only 3 points in the process. From then on things got worse, such that they failed to qualify for the 2014 event. But now they are back in Rwanda and the Ivoirians are looking to set their records straight and announce their tag as Africa’s dominant force. Sewe Sport attacker Aka Essis Beaudelaire is expected to lead the line for the elephants together with club mate Ble Nilmar Treika who will come into the midfield. Can Ivory Coast emulate the foreign based contingent and win the African Nations Championship? One thing is for sure, Group A is very likely to produce a contender for African Nations Championship title and we will witness with a 100 percent guarantee two pretenders of the tournament from this group.