- Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania held a joint meeting on Tuesday, attended by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, to review their progress in preparing for CHAN 2024.
- A key topic was the proposed Pamoja Visa, aimed at enabling free movement for fans and teams across the three countries.
- CS Mvurya highlighted that a designated committee will manage and report on budget implementation.
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have announced significant milestones in their joint preparations for the upcoming African Nations Championship (CHAN 2024) which the three nations will co-host in August.
Led by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Salim Mvurya, alongside his Ugandan and Tanzanian counterparts, as well as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, the delegation held an inter-ministerial meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday to assess the readiness of the host nations.
A key agenda of the discussion centered on ensuring seamless movement for fans and players among the three countries.
To facilitate this, the nations are set to introduce a unified travel document known as the “Pamoja Visa,” designed to ease access to match venues across borders.
We will be working with our other ministries in charge of immigration to ensure we have seamless visa entry requirements. We are also discussing a Pamoja Visa which will be very critical for the tournament,” CS Mvurya noted.
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CHAN 2024: Hosts discuss tax exemptions to streamline entry
The ministers also deliberated on logistics concerning media personnel and essential broadcasting equipment. Discussions focused on expediting customs procedures and granting tax exemptions to streamline entry.
The other area we were discussing was the issue of how the equipment will arrive in the country. Just like you in the media, we will have other people coming into the countries with their equipment, and that will require either tax exemptions or related considerations. So we agreed we will also work with the respective government agencies to ensure the tax exemption being requested is addressed,” he added.
The operational budget for hosting CHAN 2024 stands at $39 million, evenly split among the three nations at $13 million each which is equivalent to Ksh 1.6 billion per country. Mvurya emphasized that a designated committee will oversee budget execution and reporting.
We also discussed the area of financing and budget management. Remember, this tournament has a budget of 39 million dollars for the three host countries, and we have jointly agreed that the technical team from CAF and the three countries will work together to review the budget line items.
They will be convening on the 10th next week to address those issues and then report back to us,” he added.
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He also confirmed that Local Organizing Committee (LOC) members from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have undergone CAF-led security training, with further plans to extend this training to country-level personnel.
“Security remains a top priority. CAF’s proactive initiative in training our LOC teams ensures that each host country aligns with international best practices to deliver a safe and secure championship,” Mvurya said.
CS Mvurya reiterated the trio’s commitment to ensuring all aspects of the tournament are addressed in a timely and coordinated manner.
“We also took this meeting to reaffirm our commitment to host the tournament in August this year, and each country is addressing all the necessary issues to ensure the tournament is successful,” he reiterated.
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Tanzania’s Minister for Sports, Hon. Prof. Palamagamba J. A. M. Kabudi, praised the substantial progress in infrastructure development across the three nations and confirmed that all facilities will be completed by the end of June 2025.
“Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda are firmly on track. All infrastructure projects are on schedule and will be finalized before the tournament kicks off,” he stated.
Uganda’s Minister of State for Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang, extended a heartfelt invitation to fans, teams, and stakeholders from across Africa and beyond.
“We look forward to welcoming everyone to East Africa for CHAN 2025. This is not just a tournament; it is a celebration of African unity, culture, and talent,” he said.
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