East Africa is making strong progress in preparations for the upcoming CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN), set for August 2025 the region’s first-ever jointly hosted major football tournament.

Dr. Christian Emeruwa, Head of CAF’s Safety and Security department, expressed confidence in the readiness of the security teams after concluding a series of specialized workshops for senior supervisors in Nairobi.

Dr. Emeruwa praised the quality and enthusiasm of security personnel from all host countries, noting their receptiveness to CAF’s football-specific safety protocols.

“In terms of personnel, what we have seen is impressive and commendable. We are happy with the people we have trained. They have been very positive and receptive in terms of the training and we are confident that we have the right people,” he stated.

However, he also acknowledged the need for additional resources to fully equip the security teams.

The workshops, held in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, brought together 40 senior security officers from the National Police Service and officials from the Ministries of Sports and Interior Coordination.

The training focused on the unique demands of football event security, including crowd control and ticket verification skills that differ from conventional policing.

“For us it is very important to get all the security stakeholders in a room and expose them to the CAF way of doing things. Football has its own security requirements and programs which are not openly available to the conventional police,” Dr. Emeruwa explained.

The Nairobi session culminated in a practical exercise at Nyayo National Stadium, a key CHAN venue, where participants practiced managing spectator entry and verifying tickets.

Austin Oduor, CAF’s National Safety and Security Officer for Kenya, emphasized the value of these sessions: “It is very different from the normal day to day job of the police and there have been massive benefits from this training by CAF.

Locally we have endeavored to train as many police officers as possible to ensure that we have a very safe CHAN in August.”

The 2025 CHAN will be the first time three countries co-host the tournament, which is tailored for locally-based players, and is expected to attract significant cross-border attendance.

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