Due to a disagreement over government funding, Uganda will not participate in the African Nations Championships, CHAN, according to the president of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations.
A member of the Ugandan parliament as well as Moses Hassim Magogo called the decision to withdraw from the competition, which is set to start on January 13 in Algeria, “sad.”
“We are left with no further option but to withdraw from CHAN finals because the [Ministry of Finance] has not provided the funds as appropriated by parliament,” he wrote on Twitter.
“The sanctions to Uganda will affect the future if we don’t take the hard decision now. Sorry for the players and coaches who qualified the team but it is the moment to face the reality.”
If Uganda withdraws from the CHAN, it will leave the organisers, the Confederation of African Football, CAF, scrambling to find a substitute or reducing the already odd format to 17 teams.
The finals, which are for players who are based locally, will have five groups; three of them will consist of four nations, while the other two will only have three teams.
The winners of the other two pools will join the top two teams from the four-team groups in the quarterfinals. In a four-team group with the hosts, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, Uganda was drawn.
Title-holders While Madagascar will make a historic debut at the finals, Morocco will be aiming to capture the CHAN trophy for a third time in a row.
