Former Tusker FC defender Eugene Asike has called on fans to make their presence a factor as Kenya hosts the African Nations Championship games for the very first time starting Saturday, August 2, 2025.

The defender, now based in a UK fourth-tier side, Lancing FC, expressed confidence that the team will put on a good showing in the biennial tournament featuring players plying their trade in their country’s local leagues.

Turn up in numbers

 “I want to urge fans to come out and offer the boys the support they need next month when CHAN kicks off. Let us turn up in numbers and support the boys,” he stated.

With Kenya set to enjoy the privilege of staging the game on home soil and the backing of fans, Asike has backed the new leadership in the country’s federation and technical bench to steer the team to success.

 “We are hosting the tournament, so we need support for the team. I know they can do it under the new coach and new management. Let us rally behind them and bring it home,” the former KPL winner with Tusker opined.

Kenya is set to co-host the CHAN competitions alongside her East African counterparts, Uganda and Tanzania.

Harambee Stars will play their Group A matches at Kasarani Stadium. They have been drawn alongside Morocco, Angola, DR Congo, and Zambia.

The team, under South African coach Benni McCarthy, will kick off their quest for the trophy against DR Congo on Sunday, August 3, 2025.

Kenya’s second fixture will be against Angola on Tuesday, August 7th, before they face Morocco on Sunday, August 10. 2025, and wind up their group fixtures against Zambia’s Chipolopolo on Sunday, August 17th.

Fixtures

However, the tournament will kick off on Saturday, August 2, 2025, in Dar es Salaam with a fixture between co-host Tanzania and Burkina Faso at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium at 20:00 local time.

On Sunday, at 20:00, action will return to Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Tanzania, where Madagascar will play Mauritania. The opening matches in Kampala will be played on Monday, August 4th, 2025, when co-hosts Uganda play Algeria at 20:00 local time, but before that, Niger will play Guinea at 17:00 local time at the same venue.

This will mark Kenya’s debut in the CHAN tournament. While the country last featured in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), where the team exited at the group stage, this time Harambee Stars will be eager to make a deeper run especially with the added motivation of playing on home soil. The team is set to join camp on July 10, 2025.