Africa-Press – Gambia. STADIUM CAPACITY SHRINKS TO 14,000 SEATS AS GAMBIA PLAY HOME TO ALGERIA..Gambia 2 sTomorrow’s CHAN fixture between The Gambia and Algeria has several layers of importance; enough to invoke curiosity if not passion for the game.
It is the first time that the country will host a Caf organised match at home in nearly four years since it banned The Independence Stadium for not meeting standards.
It is also the first time that the newly renovated Independence Stadium will open its doors to football fans in four years with its new look.
The facility’s capacity has been reduced to 14,219 largely due to the strict guidelines on sitting arrangements imposed by Caf for safety reasons. Such new rules now also mean that no cars, unless for essential services, will be allowed in the stadium. A departure from the past when cars were packed right up to the entrance of the pitch.
The Gambia Football Federation’s Events Management Committee EMC has been busy sensitising the public on the new set of rules ahead of tomorrow’s match.
The federation has to back down on ticket prices deemed to be too expensive by the public who alleged that the GFF wants to make up for the reduction of the number of seats by increasing the ticket prices.
The federation which initially cited the high cost of hosting and preparing a team for international matches had to back down due to pressure to reduce the prices.
When all the off the pitch headaches are over in the late afternoon on Saturday, The Gambia national team of home league players will take on Algeria in the first leg of the final round of qualifiers in the Caf championship of domestic league players called The African Nations Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the African Nations Championship and commonly abbreviated as CHAN.
It is a biennial African association football tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 2009 and first announced in September 2007. The participating teams must consist of players playing in their national league competitions.
Since the 2014 edition, matches of every edition of this tournament from qualification to the final have been computed to calculate the forthcoming Fifa World Rankings following its conclusion, which Caf exclaimed at the time as an important step for the competition’s development at the time. Fifa considers the tournament friendly since it is restricted to players from local leagues to participate. The tournament is held biennially and alternates with the Africa Cup of Nations. The next tournament will be played in three East African states of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in August.
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