Guinea’s national football team, the Syli National, made a colourful entrance into Uganda on Wednesday evening ahead of the 2024 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN), arriving dressed in vibrant traditional attire in a proud display of national culture and unity.
The West African side, who have been camping in Cameroon, are based in Uganda for the group stages of the tournament and will kick off their CHAN 2024 campaign against Niger on Monday at 5 pm at Namboole Stadium.
Later that evening, co-hosts Uganda will take on Algeria in the day’s second Group C fixture.
Guinea’s arrival was more like a cultural statement, as the team came dressed in traditional Guinean garments, turning heads at the Entebbe International Airport.
According to team officials, the gesture was a deliberate move by Guinean authorities to promote national heritage while fostering African cultural pride on the international stage.
This year’s CHAN marks the first time the tournament is being co-hosted by three countries: Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, in a symbolic celebration of African unity and collaboration.
For Guinea, this will be their fourth appearance at the biennial tournament, which features players exclusively drawn from their respective domestic leagues.
The Syli National return to the CHAN fold after missing the 2022 edition, but they do so with renewed ambition, having finished third in 2020.
They qualified for CHAN 2024 in emphatic fashion, defeating Guinea-Bissau 6-2 on aggregate in the final qualification round.
That performance was underlined by a 4-1 win in the first leg in Abidjan and a 2-1 victory in Bissau.
Among the key figures in the squad is 20-year-old forward Mohamed Saliou Bangoura of Hafia FC, who netted in both legs of the qualifiers.
Although Souleymane Camara, who guided Guinea through qualification, will not be on the touchline during the finals due to CAF licensing requirements, the team remains tactically grounded under the new technical staff, still employing Camara’s high-tempo 4-3-3 system.
