CHAN ORANGE 2016: Hosts Rwanda Dumped as Losers Win Big Cash Prizes
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By EADM Sports Correspondent and Agencies
In Summary: DR Congo dump hosts Rwanda out of the ongoing Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) 2016 as Ivory Coast progressed to the semi-finals with a thorough 3-0 drubbing of Cameroon in a second quarter final match played Saturday. In the other quarter final games, Guinea beat Zambia in post-match spot kicks to progress to the semifinals while Mali beat Tunisia to make it among the last four. Meanwhile, bottom-placed losers in the preliminary group qualification stages walked away smiling to their banks as winners off the pitch with a hefty $100,000.
Dallas, Texas—The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) dump hosts Rwanda out of the ongoing Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) 2016 as Ivory Coast progressed to the semi-finals after trouncing Cameroon 3-1 in a second quarter final match played Saturday in Kigali. This is the second setback for Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars in a short spell following their loss to the 14-time record holders, Uganda, in the final of the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup 2015 in Ethiopia.
For the DRC Leopards, the most successful team in this championship, this was sweet victory over their tiny neighbor as they aim to scoop a second title having won the inaugural accolade in 2009.
In the other quarter finals, Mali came from behind to beat Tunisia 2-1 on Sunday in Kigali to book a historic place at the last four.
Mali’s victory ended the campaign of the Carthage Eagles, winners in 2011. This is the first time Tunisia lost a game in the history of the championship and it came costly as they were booted out of the tournament.
In the second quarter final, Captain Abdoul Aziz Keita was the hero for Guinea as they edged Zambia’s Chipolopolo 5-4 on penalties and book their place at the semis. Keita, who plays for AS Kaloum, saved twice during penalties before converting the decisive kick to propel the ‘Syli Nationale’ among the last four.
Guinea will now play DR Congo in the first semi-final on Wednesday February 3 at Amahoro Stadium, Kigali while Mali will tussle it out with Ivory Coast in the second semi-final on Thursd
ay February 4 at Stade Régional Nyamirambo. The finals will be played on Sunday February 7 after the third place play-offs at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali. Interestingly, all the four teams that qualified for the semi-finals were second runners-up in the group qualifying games going into the quarter finals. All the four teams that led their groups were eliminated in the quarter final stage leaving the showdown in the semis and the finals to exclusively Francophone West African countries.
Meanwhile, despite being eliminated in the ongoing Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda, by all accounts, it is a win-win situation for all the sixteen teams participating in this ongoing fourth edition of the Orange-sponsored CHAN 2016 tournament, News agencies reported in Kigali. The bottom-placed losers, the last team in each of the four groups in the preliminary group qualification stages walked away smiling to their banks as winners off the pitch with a hefty $100,000. Each of the teams that finished third in the group stages returned home with a weighty $125.
The winner of the tournament on February 7 will receive a bounty of $750,000 while the runners-up will settle for a cash prize of $400,000. Losing semi-finalists and quarterfinalists will each take home a bagful of $250,000 and $175,000 respectively. According to News Agencies, both ‘losers and winners on the pitch are winners at the same time. Each of the sixteen teams; Rwanda, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Cameroon, Tunisia, Guinea, Mali, Zambia, Uganda, Angola, Ethiopia, Gabon, Morocco, Nigeria, Niger, and Zimbabwe will win a cash prize.
Ugandan Cranes.
The elimination of hosts Rwanda from the Championships leaves the East African region without a team in a tournament played in their backyard. The Uganda Cranes, the other East African team that participated in CHAN 2016 on merit, once again failed to advance beyond the preliminary stages for the third time in a row in the biennial tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football exclusively for players from domestic leagues.