CAF in September 2017 had stripped Kenya of the right to host the competition following delays from reports of the various inspection missions conducted in the country.

Morocco, Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea all applied for the hosting right of the tournament before CAF made their decision at an Emergency Committee meeting chaired by President Ahmad Ahmad.

At the meeting, on Saturday, October 14, the committee unanimously chose Morocco ahead of Equatorial Guinea to host the 5th edition of CHAN.

According to CAF, the application from the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) did not have the government's letter of guarantee, which is a mandatory document required by the rules of application for the hosting right.

The 2018 CHAN is scheduled to hold between Friday, January 12 to Sunday, February 4, 2018.

16 countries will battle for the title which is exclusively for players playing in the national championships of their respective countries.

The 2018 CHAN in Kenya will be Nigeria’s third, finishing third in South Africa 2014 and crashing out in the first round in Rwanda 2016.