Kenya’s casual approach to getting venues ready for the delayed 2024 Africa Nations Championship (Chan) has come back to haunt the country, with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) moving Group “D” matches away from Nairobi to Zanzibar.
Kenya will co-host the 19-team tournament with Uganda and Tanzania from August 2 to 30. Chan is a biennial football tournament reserved for players plying their trade in their respective domestic leagues.
The tournament had been scheduled for September last year but CAF moved it to February. However, due to inadequate preparations by the three host countries, Kenya being the main culprit, the African football governing body again pushed the tournament forward to August.
As per the original plan, Kenya presented two match venues - Nyayo National Stadium and Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani - and seven training venues. Kenya was meant to host both Group “A” and “D” matches, while Tanzania and Uganda presented one match venue each, and were meant to host Groups “B” and “C” matches at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium and Nelson Mandela Stadium respectively.
An aerial view of the newly renovated Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on June 10, 2025.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
Group “A” features Kenya, 2018 and 2020 champions Morocco, Angola, 2009 and 2016 winners Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia, while Group “D” is composed of defending champions Senegal, Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Nigeria.
Following Caf’s decision to take Group ‘D’ matches to Zanzibar, the Tanzanian archipelago will host the matches at Amaan Stadium - the venue of the 2024/25 Caf Confederation Cup final in May this year.
Group “B” is composed of hosts Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, and Central Africa Republic while Group “C” has Uganda, Niger, Guinea, South Africa, and Algeria.
In a statement on Thursday, Caf announced that the 55,000-seater MISC Kasarani will host the tournament’s final on August 30, while the opening match will be staged at the 60,000-seater Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on August 2. The 45,000-seater Nelson Mandela Stadium Kampala will host the third-place play-off match.
Whereas Caf said it has moved Group “D” matches to Zanzibar “to expand the reach and inclusivity of African football”, Nation Sport understands that Caf’s hand was forced by Kenya’s failure to convince it that the country will have all its venues (two match venues and seven training grounds) ready by the time the tournament starts in 42 days.
Kenya presented Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang’ata, Police Sacco Stadium in South ‘C’, Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu, Kasarani Annex “A” and “B” pitches, and two pitches at the Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) in Kasarani as training grounds.
A section of the seating area inside Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on June 10, 2025.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
Nation Sport understands that although Kenya presented seven training venues, the country is struggling to have the fifth venue ready.
While Ulinzi Sports Complex is ready for use, Kasarani Annex “A” and “B”, and Police Sacco Stadium are nearing completion, with the major work remaining being installation of floodlights.
Some of the remaining tasks at match venues - MISC Kasarani and Nyayo National Stadium - include installation of the giant screens, LED boards, turnstile, sound system, and Venue Operations Centre (VOC) or stadium control room where stadium operations, including safety and security, are monitored and controlled.
Failure to meet deadlines
Kenya has been in Caf’s crosshairs over persistent failure to meet her own deadlines for having venues ready. However, Kenya’s Local Organising Committee chairman Nicholas Musonye has said that the country is on the right track to co-hosting the competition, adding that all the venues will be ready at the end of this month.
Musonye said that Kenya Utalii College Sports Club has now been designated as another training ground for 2024 Chan, and its renovation will start soon. The veteran football administrator further said that his team is in talks with owners of two other private grounds to have them also designated as training venues.
“This is ‘Pamoja Bid’ bringing together Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. With Zanzibar being part of it, CAF has decided to distribute the matches to all the regions. We have not lost anything. Matches from the round of 16 will be distributed equally,” said Musonye.
“We are working on the sites to be ready by end of June…We want to have many training pitches on standby so that even if it rains or one pitch has been used, the others are available for use.”
Under pressure to have venues ready
Musonye said that in two weeks, giant screens, LED boards, turnstile, sound system, and VOC will have been installed at both MISC Kasarani, and at Nyayo National Stadium.
“In a stadium, you cannot be 100 per cent perfect. We are doing our best to be somewhere there so that football can be played at the stadiums,” the former Cecafa chairman said, adding that unlike Kirigiti Stadium, Kenya Utalii College Sports Club doesn’t need much work.
Kenya has delayed in getting venues ready for the tournament, with government officials giving conflicting date of completion of work. Before the tournament was moved to August, Kipchumba Murkomen who was Sports Cabinet Secretary at the time insisted that the venues would be ready in January.
After the postponement of the stadium to August, former Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum said venues would be ready in April before later settling on June. The current Sports CS Salim Mvurya has always insisted that the country is ready to host the tournament.
Workers remove the running track at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on April 26, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Nation Sport understands that Kenya is under immense pressure to have the venues ready for handing over to CAF end of this month. The delay in the completion of the work at MISC Kasarani and Nyayo National Stadium has been occasioned by government’s failure to fully pay the contractors their dues.
Speaking to Nation Sport on Thursday, Caf’s Director of Communication, Luxolo September, said that the continental football governing body expects Kenya’s venues “to be ready by yesterday.”
“We think Kenya will be ready, we think East Africa will be ready. We wouldn’t be announcing this (the opening, final, and third-place play-off venues) if we thought that these venues were not on track, so far we are very confident about the outcome of the situation. There is a good working relationship between CAF and the people of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya,” September said.
Kenya was awarded and stripped of the right to host the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and 2018 Chan over failure to adequately prepare for the tournaments.
