NYAGA: CHAN is a golden chance to live the Jumuiya dream

Jointly hosted by Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, CHAN shows what we can achieve together through unity. The tournament brings us closer than any treaty ever could. Here is our chance not only to celebrate football, but also to deepen the cultural, social, and economic bonds among our peoples. 

Despite the immense challenges each of our countries faces, we can take pride in our collective will that has made this possible. CHAN offers a chance to enjoy the moment, reflect, recharge, and build the solidarity needed to tackle those challenges together. 

This is our moment to show the rest of Africa and the world who we truly are. A people rich in cultural diversity, yet deeply united by our shared history, heritage, aspirations, and destiny. The colonial borders imposed to divide, rule, and exploit us should not define us any longer. We were never meant to be divided. 

One powerful symbol of that shared heritage is Kiswahili. There’s an old joke that Kiswahili was born in Zanzibar, grew up in Tanzania, fell ill in Kenya, and died in Uganda. But CHAN offers a chance to celebrate and reinvigorate our lingua franca, to strengthen it in Tanzania, nurse it back to full health in Kenya and resurrect it in Uganda. Through music, chants, commentaries, memes, and teaching visitors new phrases, we can demonstrate the linguistic sophistication of Kiswahili, its maturity in sports science, and its unifying power. Let CHAN be where our shared language speaks its loudest and proudest.

The tournament offers a unique opportunity to demolish any prejudices or stereotypes still lingering amongst East Africans. When a Kenyan trader chats with a Tanzanian Uber driver, or a Ugandan fan shares a laugh with new Zanzibari friends, barriers break down. In stadium stands and fan zones, we rediscover our common heritage and shared future. Fans might forge cross-border friendships and business partnerships or even find love. Local youth may adopt visiting fans and guide them around. The bonds formed during these games will leave a lasting impression well after the trophy is lifted.

Away from the pitch lies potential for a tourism bonanza, tapping into East Africa’s rich and unique tourist attractions. The East African Community has already developed a strategy to market the region as a single tourist destination. It’s time to put it into life ahead of 2027 AFCON games. From white sand beaches to hiking adventures in the mountains and vibrant urban party life. In Uganda's historical kingdoms, we reconnect with our pre-colonial heritage. Every local who rediscovers a neighbouring country’s beauty, and every tourist who falls in love with our region becomes an ambassador for a shared Jumuiya future. 

Beyond its socio-cultural significance, CHAN is also a test run for East Africa’s political and economic integration. This is a chance to see the Common Market and the Monetary Union in practice. Can our security agencies coordinate seamlessly? Do cross-border payments operate effectively? Can small-scale vendors sell merchandise across borders without red tape? Can travellers move across all EAC borders using just national IDs? If we get this right, CHAN can give us a glimpse of a truly borderless East Africa, with free movement of people, goods and services. Today it might be football, but tomorrow it might be joint ventures in business, science, research and innovation. Tearing down barriers lifts us all.  

This is also our moment to plant the seed of East African patriotism and to nurture East African nationhood. Let us wave both national and Jumuiya flags. If any of the East African teams gets eliminated, let us rally behind the remaining one(s). True patriotism is cheering for Jumuiya, not just one’s own team.

Leaders and policymakers should attend these games not just as dignitaries, but as keen observers taking notes. CHAN offers a living policy laboratory for EAC integration, and its outcomes should feed into real action plans to strengthen our Community. The best policies are those positively felt, not just read. 

Finally, the EAC Secretariat must seize this moment to promote the integration agenda and demonstrate its relevance to ordinary citizens. By actively engaging the public, be it through information booths, cultural shows and more, it can win over even sceptics, who normally view regional integration as empty political talk.

Let CHAN be more than just football. Let it be our declaration to the world that we are not just Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania existing side by side. We are one united East African family, and we are bringing that trophy home!