African Nations Championship Football: CHAN Winners, Records and What Replaces It

The African Nations Championship, better known as CHAN, was the CAF football tournament for national teams picked only from players at clubs in their own country's league. It has ended: CAF president Patrice Motsepe confirmed in January 2026 that CHAN is being replaced by a new competition, the African Nations League, so the 2024 edition hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda was the last. For readers in South Africa who knew it as the soccer tournament for the best local PSL players, and for followers of the home based Eagles, the Harambee Stars and the Black Galaxies, its eight editions ran from 2009 to 2024.

What follows gathers the whole story in one place, from the first final in Ivory Coast in 2009 to the last one in East Africa. You get every winner, runner up and host in a single table, the scoring records, a plain account of how Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda fared, and a short explainer on what CAF has put in CHAN's place. If the Africa Cup of Nations is the big Sunday family lunch, CHAN was the weekday supper cooked from what was already in the house, and it often tasted every bit as good.

Is the African Nations Championship Still Running?

No, CHAN is no longer running, and the 2024 edition hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda was the final tournament. Patrice Motsepe, the CAF president, confirmed the decision in January 2026 at a press conference held during the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. He said the competition would be replaced by the African Nations League, and he cited financial concerns as the reason. So, if you have been searching for the next CHAN draw or a qualifying schedule, there is no new edition to find, and older listings that suggest one should be read as out of date.

The history of the tournament, however, stays exactly as it was. Eight editions were played from 2009 to 2024, the first of them in Ivory Coast with eight teams, and the field was expanded to 16 teams for the 2011 edition in Sudan. The winners, finals and scoring records set out below cover those eight editions, which preceded the January 2026 announcement that the African Nations League would replace CHAN. For supporters of the Black Galaxies or the Uganda Cranes, that record is worth keeping, because it holds some of the proudest days home based footballers had on a continental stage.

Who Won Each Edition of CHAN, From 2009 to 2024?

Five nations shared the eight titles, and Morocco sit at the top of the roll of honour with three. DR Congo won the very first final in 2009 in Ivory Coast, beating Ghana 2-0 in a tournament played by just eight teams. Tunisia were champions in Sudan in 2011, beating Angola 3-0 in the final, and that edition was the first with 16 teams. The expansion mattered, since it doubled the number of domestic leagues with a squad on show and gave many more home based players a chance to be seen across the continent.

South Africa hosted the 2014 edition, and it produced the most dramatic final of the early years. Libya and Ghana drew 0-0, Libya won the shootout 4-3 to take the trophy, and Nigeria finished third. Two years later, DR Congo became the first nation to win CHAN twice, taking the 2016 edition in Rwanda with a 3-0 final against Mali. In my opinion, those two finals show the range of the tournament well, since one turned on nerve from the penalty spot and the other on a clear margin of three goals.

From 2018 onwards, the story belongs mostly to Morocco. They hosted the 2018 edition in place of Kenya, the original hosts, and beat Nigeria 4-0 in the final to become the first host nation to win it. They retained the title in the 2020 edition, played in 2021 in Cameroon, with a 2-0 win over Mali. Senegal won the 2022 edition, played in 2023 in Algeria, beating the hosts 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 draw, with Madagascar third. The last final, in 2024, went back to Morocco, who beat Madagascar 3-2 while Senegal took third place.

Which Country Has Won the African Nations Championship Most Often?

Morocco have won CHAN more often than anyone, with three titles in 2018, 2020 and 2024. Their first two came back to back, the only time any nation retained the trophy, and the 2018 win also made them the first host to lift it. Perhaps the clearest explanation is consistency, since Morocco reached three of the last four finals and won every one of them. For a tournament built entirely on domestic leagues, that run says a great deal about the depth of talent Moroccan clubs were producing at home.

DR Congo are second on the list with two titles, won in 2009 and 2016. They were the first champions and the first nation to win twice, and both of their finals were won without conceding, 2-0 against Ghana and 3-0 against Mali. For players in the Congolese domestic game, those two triumphs meant a continental medal earned without ever leaving home, which is exactly the kind of reward CHAN was designed to offer.

Tunisia (2011), Libya (2014) and Senegal (2022) won one title each, and Senegal's victory in Algeria was their first CHAN crown, sealed in a shootout against the hosts. Among the nations that reached a final without winning one, Mali and Madagascar stand out. Mali were runners up in 2016 and 2020, while Madagascar went from third place in 2022 to the final in 2024.

How Was CHAN Different From the Africa Cup of Nations?

The biggest difference was who could be picked. CHAN was open only to players registered with clubs in their own country's domestic league, while the Africa Cup of Nations lets a coach select from anywhere in the world. So, each squad drew its players from clubs in its own country’s domestic league, with no place for anyone playing abroad. That made it a stage where the best players of each domestic league were the headline names, rather than the supporting cast behind the stars based overseas.

The calendar was the other difference. CHAN was staged in alternate years to the Africa Cup of Nations, so for most of its life the continent had a national team tournament of some kind every year. Fans of the Black Galaxies or the Uganda Cranes could follow a continental campaign in years when the senior side had none. It could be argued that this rhythm was part of CHAN's appeal, and also part of the pressure on the calendar that the African Nations League will now have to answer.

How Did a CHAN Tournament Work, From Groups to the Final?

CHAN finals included a group stage and knockout rounds. South Africa's 2011 campaign shows how demanding that structure could be, because they won all their group matches and still went out to Algeria in the quarter finals.

Two finals were decided from the spot, in 2014 and 2022. The tournament also changed in size, starting with eight teams in 2009 and growing to 16 in 2011.

How Did Kenya and Uganda Bring CHAN 2024 to East Africa?

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda hosted the 2024 edition together, the first time CHAN was shared between three countries, and it brought the tournament back to East Africa eight years after Rwanda hosted in 2016. Morocco won that final tournament, beating Madagascar 3-2, with Senegal third, so the last trophy of all was lifted on East African soil.

For Kenya, hosting closed a loop that began years earlier. The country was originally due to stage the 2018 tournament, and Morocco took it on instead, so the 2024 edition gave the Harambee Stars and the KPL the home tournament they had first been lined up for. Kenyan football gained a chance to show its domestic players in front of home supporters.

For Uganda, the tournament put the Uganda Premier League in front of a continental audience in Kampala. In my opinion, the shared hosting did more for the profile of East African football than any single result could, because it showed that three neighbouring federations could stage a CAF tournament together.

How Did Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa Fare at CHAN?

Ghana reached two CHAN finals, in 2009 and 2014, and finished as runners up both times. The first was a 2-0 defeat by DR Congo in Ivory Coast. Ghana finished runners up in 2014 after Libya won the shootout 4-3, following a 0-0 draw in South Africa. Each squad drew its players from clubs in its own country’s domestic league.

Nigeria finished third in 2014 and reached the final in 2018, where Morocco beat them 4-0. The home based Eagles were picked from the NPFL, and that run to the 2018 final stands as the best Nigerian result at the tournament. For NPFL clubs, a CHAN call up was a mark of status, and a strong tournament could open doors for a player.

South Africa hosted the 2014 edition, and Bafana Bafana's home based players made an impression in 2011 as well, winning all their group matches before losing to Algeria in the quarter finals. Because many of Bafana Bafana's regular players are based in the PSL, a South African CHAN squad could sit close to the senior squad in quality, and it was natural for players to move between the two.

Who Were CHAN's Top Scorers, and Which Records Still Stand?

Ayoub El Kaabi of Morocco holds the scoring record for a single CHAN, with nine goals at the 2018 tournament. He scored them on home soil as Morocco became the first host to win the competition, and his tally drove a campaign that ended with a 4-0 final against Nigeria. His nine goals were the highest single edition total across the tournaments played from 2009 to 2024, before Motsepe announced CHAN's replacement in January 2026.

Oussama Lamlioui sits next on the list, with six goals for Morocco at the 2024 edition. His goals helped Morocco to their third title in East Africa, so the two highest single edition tallies both belong to Moroccan strikers from their own domestic league. For readers in Ghana or Nigeria, the lesson is a familiar one from tournament football, since the leading scorers came from the side that went furthest and played the most matches.

Morocco hold the main team records as well, with the most titles and the only back to back wins, in 2018 and 2020. Their 4-0 win over Nigeria in the 2018 final was also the widest winning margin in any CHAN final, ahead of the 3-0 wins by Tunisia in 2011 and DR Congo in 2016. Those three results are the only finals won by three goals or more, and they show that a CHAN final could be decided emphatically as well as on penalties.

Two finals went to penalties after 0-0 draws, with Libya beating Ghana 4-3 in 2014 and Senegal beating Algeria 5-4 in the 2022 edition. The final with the most goals was the last one, Morocco's 3-2 win over Madagascar in 2024, which gave the competition a lively send off. Ghana and Mali both lost two finals, which makes them the most frequent runners up in the history of the tournament, and in Ghana's case both of those finals were against first time champions.

What Replaces CHAN, and Why Did CAF Drop It?

CAF is replacing CHAN with the African Nations League, a decision confirmed by its president Patrice Motsepe in January 2026. He made the announcement at a press conference during the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and cited financial concerns as the reason for ending the old tournament. Perhaps the simplest reading is that a full finals event every two years, with qualifying rounds across every region, asked a great deal of federations and hosts, and the new competition is CAF's response to that cost.

Patrice Motsepe announced in January 2026 that the African Nations League would replace CHAN.

What Happens to Home Based Players Now?

CHAN was the only continental stage built for players registered with clubs in their own country’s domestic league. For players in the KPL, the Uganda Premier League and the Ghana Premier League in particular, it was a realistic route to a continental tournament in a national shirt.

The main routes now are the senior national teams and the CAF club competitions. A strong season at home can still earn a call up to the Black Stars, the Super Eagles, the Harambee Stars, the Uganda Cranes or Bafana Bafana, and clubs that qualify for the CAF Champions League or the CAF Confederation Cup put their players in front of continental audiences every year. For supporters following domestic talent, club competition offers a way to watch those players face opponents from other African leagues while continuing to represent their own clubs.

Where Can You Follow African Football Now That CHAN Has Ended?

CHAN's historical standings are collected in the Chan table, with log as the familiar South African term for that table. Dated match entries appear under Chan fixtures, while Chan results preserves the scores from completed CHAN matches.

Individual scoring figures and national team records sit together under Chan stats. Readers aged 18 or over can consult Chan predictions for calls expressed through probabilities and reference prices. To read a CHAN fixture across the five countries, use this example: Ghana, 16:00 GMT; Nigeria, 17:00 WAT; South Africa, 18:00 SAST; Kenya and Uganda, 19:00 EAT.