While Kenya were drawn in Group A alongside two-time winners Morocco and DR Congo, as well as Angola and Zambia, Uganda were pitted in Group C alongside Niger, Guinea, Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2.
For Uganda, they will either play South Africa and Egypt, who will play in a qualification campaign to fill the slots in the draw for Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2. Other teams in the qualification campaign include Algeria, Comoros, Gambia, Malawi, and Gabon.
Tanzania were seeded in Group B and will take on Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Central African Republic in their pool while the defending champions Senegal were placed in Group D, which is a four-team pool, and will face Congo, Sudan and Nigeria.
Kenya to get out of their group of death
According to Wasswa, who conducted the draw alongside Mrisho Ngasa of Tanzania and Kenya’s McDonald Mariga, Group A with Kenya is the group of death but with proper preparations, Harambee Stars will qualify for the knockout stages.
“We should know we are at home and we will really have the back up of our fans, the government and all the people around the East African region so, trust me this time round we are going to see miracles happening in the CHAN tournament,’ Waswa told Flashscore.
“My brothers Kenya, I know and I believe in them, they are going to get out of that group, suddenly Group A remains the group of death but people are looking away from Uganda’s group because remember there is South Africa, and Egypt as well and if those two teams qualify, Uganda will also be in a group of death.”
Wasswa, who retired from international football in April 2021 after 13 years with the Uganda national team, continued: “Overall, Kenya and Uganda need to bring out their A-game to the tournament, if they work very hard, I predict they will all qualify from their respective groups. I believe anybody can spring a surprise in the tournament.”
Asked whether there was any weak team in the tournament, Wasswa, who played as a defensive midfielder responded: “No team is weak in this tournament but they must all show up and play, they all know what is at stake and should aim for a good show, anything is possible.
“You can see surprises because you may think that this team is weak and they end up posing a surprise in the tournament, all in all, no team is weak, no team is strong, they are home-based players and it is all about them working very hard and achieving success.”
Kenya must aim for prize money
According to former Harambee Stars coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee, Harambee Stars should aim at winning the tournament because of the prize money that will be at stake.
Before the draw, the African body announced they had increased the prize money by 75% with the champions going to pocket $3.5 million, with a total prize pool of $10.4 million—a 32% hike aimed at boosting the tournament’s appeal.
“I believe the players know what is at stake, we saw the prize money was increased and this should work as a motivator to Kenya to try and go for the prize,” Mulee told Flashscore. “It is not difficult, they will be playing at home, with the fans rallying behind them, it is something they can achieve and make the country proud.”
On Kenya’s group, Mulee summed it up: “I think when you go into a draw you expect a lot, there is no easy group, actually when I look at all the groups, they are tough groups but Kenya’s group is the group of death.
“However, I believe that Kenya, they usually play very well when they have a tough group, remember during the 1987 All Africa Games in Kenya, we went all the way to the final, so that is already an indication that we can beat big teams, we beat Cameroon on the way to the final where we lost to Egypt.”
Mulee continued: “I think in our group the pressure is very high for the players, for the coaches and when Kenya faces tough teams that is where Harambee Stars actually performs, actually if you follow Harambee Stars very closely, when you are expecting they are going to win is when they lose.
“They disappoint you, but again the Morocco game is going to be very tough and playing at home Harambee Stars will be backed by home supporters and I think that is going to be a very big motivation and knowing that the pressure is on them to be able to perform.”
Meanwhile, former Harambee Stars striker Allan Wanga called on the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to start early preparations for the team.
“I think it is the group of death but I believe it will be good to prepare the players psychologically, they now know which teams they will face, so they will prepare knowing what kind of opponents they will battle against,” said Wanga, who played for several clubs in the Kenyan Premier League including Sofapaka and Tusker.
“It will not be easy for Kenya but our number one priority is to prepare the team well because we now have enough time to prepare following the postponement of the tournament to August, the players also need to have confidence since they are the host nation because fans and everyone have high expectations. We must put preparations in place as early as now before August.”
This year’s CHAN is unique - it’s the first time the tournament will be co-hosted by three nations: Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The competition, originally slated for earlier, was rescheduled to August 2025 to ensure world-class infrastructure and facilities.
