With seven days to go, the East African region is set to host the eighth edition of the CHAN, a biennial African association football tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 2009 and first announced in September 2007.
The participating teams must consist of players playing in their domestic league competitions.
Kenya’s Harambee Stars will make their debut in the tournament and have been pooled in Group A, whose matches will be played at Kasarani Stadium, alongside DR Congo, Angola, Morocco, and Zambia.
Group B will have Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Mauritania and Tanzania.
Algeria, Niger, Guinea, South Africa and Uganda are pooled in Group C, whose matches will be staged at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala, while Group D comprises Congo, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.
Ex-Kenya heroes & heroines must be treated with decorum
According to former Harambee Stars goalkeeper Mathews Ottamax, the CHAN tournament should be a good opportunity for the former players to be accorded respect, as they have a huge role to play.
“Imagine the country’s longest-serving captain and the most capped player with over 90 caps, Musa Otieno, was forced to watch the Kenya vs Gabon fixture at the Nyayo Stadium among the Ultras, where all sorts of delinquents are found,” Ottamax told Flashscore.
“These former stars don’t just go to the stadium as fanatics, they go there to analyse the games as most are coaches, who need to watch from a tranquil area for future references, and should be accorded better treatment.”
Ottamax, who played for AFC Leopards among other teams in the Kenyan Premier League continued: “Take a walk to our VVIP and VIP sections of our stadia, you’ll be surprised to find that those areas are filled with ‘Gonywa Batallion’ with accreditation tags oscillating like pendulums across their chests as they move left and right in search of politicians in attendance oblivious of the happenings in the pitch of play...some even go home without knowing the scores.
“CHAN is here with us, and with the few days remaining, it is my humble plea that the concerned authorities will see the importance of treating their former heroes and heroines with decorum akin to the nostalgic days when we were escorted to pitches like presidents.
“Forlornly, and in foreign countries, where we sang the national anthem, blinded with trickling tears in readiness to fight for the pride and glory of our country...don’t you think we deserve to smile now?”
According to Ottamax, former players should be allocated various duties during the tournament: “It is about time that leaders in various sports departments come out and prioritise allocation of duties to their former sportsmen and women whenever the country is faced with hosting tournaments, be it an a (stand-alone) international fixture or long tournaments.
“Other than that, we need to treat our sportspeople with decorum when we are hosting matches by at least recognising them with VIP treatment.”
Ottamax concluded: “Ex-footballers are very modest, or just call them orderly for lack of a better word in their approach to matters. They carry themselves with decorum.
“This patience has been mistaken for cowardice, leading to our heroes and heroines in sports to be overlooked even in their own 'birthday parties', as is the case in the CHAN competition that is about to kick off in just over a week across the three East African Nations.
"I’m yet to hear 'VIP Tags for Legends' like we see being done in other countries.”
Harambee Stars will have the opportunity to showcase their locally based players in front of home fans, offering a unique chance to connect the national team to the grassroots and domestic leagues that shape them.
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