CHAN 2009 - First Joy for the Leopards
The 2009 African Nations Championship was the first edition of the tournament designed exclusively for the footballers who play in their domestic leagues. It took place in Cote dâIvoire from 22 February to 8 March 2009 with eight teams taking place in the finals. Thirty (30) teams played in the qualifiers that were played on Zonal basis.
The finals saw the eight teams divided on two groups. Group A had the hosts Cote dâIvoire, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia, while Group B included DR Congo, Ghana, Libya and Zimbabwe.
The opening game was marked by the first hat-trick in the competitionâs history, scored by Zambiaâs Given Singuluma as they defeated hosts Cote dâIvoire 3-0. Zambia went to top Group A on five points, same as Senegal as they both reached the semifinals.