African Nations Championship 2026: Why CHAN Was Cancelled

About the TotalEnergies African Nations

The African Nations Championship is a football competition between national teams from African countries that is run by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Only national teams made up of players from local leagues are eligible for the tournament as opposed to the Africa Cup of Nations where legionnaires can play.

CHAN 2026

The 2026 African Nations Championship (CHAN) will not take place. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) abolished the tournament as part of a major reform of its international calendar for national teams.

The decision was made between December 2025 and January 2026. CAF plans to develop a new competition, the African Nations League, as part of the revamped structure of international tournaments for African national teams.

The last edition of CHAN, officially referred to as CHAN 2024, was held from 2 to 30 August 2025 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Morocco won the tournament.

Key Facts

CHAN 2026 will not be held.
CAF abolished the tournament as part of its international calendar reform.
The African Nations League is being developed as a replacement.
The last CHAN edition was held in 2025.

History of the African Nations Championship

The idea for such a football competition originated in 2007. Two years later, the first African Cup of Nations was held in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), which was won by the Congo team. Eight teams competed in the first edition, and the number of teams has doubled since the following championships.

In 2016, CAF signed a sponsorship contract with a French oil company.

Over the history of this championship, teams from Morocco and Congo have won the title twice.