RABAT, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Morocco will host the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN), the country's Royal Football Federation (FRMF) announced on Sunday.
The decision to give Morocco the hosting rights was taken at the Emergency Committee meeting of the Confederations of African Football on Saturday in Lagos, the Moroccan confederation said in a statement.
"Morocco was chosen for its developed infrastructure, sports stadiums, training facilities, hotels, hospitals and means of transport," it added.
The tournament will be hosted by four Moroccan cities, namely the economic city of Casablanca, northern city of Tangier, and the southern cities of Marakesh Agadir, the statement noted.
Kenya was initially billed to host the tournament but poor preparations meant they were stripped off the rights.
The tournament, which is reserved for locally-based players in Africa, is scheduled for 12 January to 4 February next year.
Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia have qualified for the 2018 finals.
