Ongoing renovation at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will undertake a two-day inspection of facilities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) that will be co-hosted by the three East African states.
A CAF delegation is expected in Nairobi today and will assess the preparations put in place thus far by the Pamoja Afcon 2027 team in Thursday and Friday.
What will be the key areas of preparations that the CAF team will be looking at?
During the first round of the inspection in February, CAF established that none of the proposed venues for the tournament had met the required standards to stage the championships.
Consequently, CAF outlined key targets that were to be achieved by the three co-hosts in six months’ time.
A fisheye view of Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang’ata, Nairobi, during its official launch on April 13, 2022.
A CAF presentation during the workshop on “Pamoja Afcon 2027” held in Kampala, Uganda, in April, and seen by Nation Sport, stated that the second inspection will determine whether a venue is cleared to proceed with preparations to stage the tournament or be ruled out.
“August 2026 is the decisive gate – round 2 inspection determines go/no-go for each venue,” read the report.
According to the report, by August the three co-hosts are expected to demonstrate significant progress in the construction and refurbishment of the stadiums earmarked for the tournament. Where applicable, the report stated that a minimum of 80 per cent completion should have been achieved to allow for the installation, testing and operational readiness activities at the venues.
The co-hosts are also expected to demonstrate installation, integration and commissioning of critical stadium systems, including floodlighting, safety and security infrastructure, communication systems, and emergency management systems.
In Kenya, the designated match venues for the 2027 Afcon are the 48,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani and the 60,000-seater Talanta Sports City.
An exterior view of the under-construction 60,000-seater Raila Odinga Talanta Stadium in Nairobi.
At MISC Kasarani, the report states the refurbishment should have reached 60 per cent completion by the time the second assessment takes place.
Among the key milestones expected to have been achieved at the stadium are at least 50 per cent completion of the physical implementation of spectator segregation infrastructure, at least 60 per cent completion of hospitality spaces, and at least 50 per cent completion of the Venue Operations Centre (VOC).
VOC is the stadium’s central command. It is where stadium officials, security teams and emergency services monitor and coordinate what is happening across the venue.
Other key works that are to be achieved by the second inspection at MISC are completion of the reconstruction of the competition pitch, with growth of the grass underway, installation and certification of competition lighting at a minimum of 2500 lux, and the reinstallation and operation of turnstiles and perimeter fencing.
Media centre and press conference facilities are also expected to be at least 60 per cent complete while safety and security systems (CCTV, access control, fire detection) are expected to be at least 50 per cent installed.
MISC was shut down early this year for more renovations. Several of the requirements, including the planting of grass, have yet to be achieved.
Talanta Sports City should be 80 per cent complete, with the stadium’s structural works, the establishment of functioning zoning covering the spectator flows, team areas, media areas and VOC location laid out.
The integration of critical systems within the construction programme (lighting, power redundancy, security) should also have been done.
Construction of Talanta Sports City started in March 2024 and was originally expected to be complete in December last year.
On Monday, Nicholas Musonye, the chairman of Kenya’s Afcon Local Organising Committee, told Nation Sport that the Kipchoge Keino Stadium had been reinstated as an alternative match venue and is scheduled for inspection by CAF.
An artistic impression of a refurbished Kipchoge Keino Stadium.
Work on training venues should have reached 75 per cent completion and met the CAF Afcon minimum technical, safety and operational standards.
The designated training grounds in Kenya are Ulinzi Sports Complex, Nyayo National Stadium, Police Sacco Stadium, MISC Kasarani Annex “A” and “B”, Kenya Academy of Sports “A” and “B”, Kenya Utalii College Sports Ground, Talanta Sports City Annex 1, 2 and 3 and Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu.
The CAF team will also inspect progress on supporting infrastructure, including access roads, traffic circulation plans, utilities, power redundancy systems, and perimeter security installations around competition venues.
They will also assess airport operational readiness, including arrival/departure handling capacity, VIP and team processing procedures, and coordination with immigration and customs authorities.
In this inspection, the co-hosts must also confirm sufficient hotel accommodation capacity that meets CAF requirements for teams, officials, media, commercial partners and other tournament stakeholders.
Aerial view of Nyayo National Stadium in this photo taken on September 25, 2020.
In addition, the three countries are expected to have established and confirmed a common visa facilitation framework to ensure smooth movement by all accredited tournament stakeholders.
“We are confident that we are okay in our preparations. We have enough facilities when it comes to hotels, airports and even hospitals. Even CAF themselves have no issue with that," said Musonye.
CAF has set a deadline of January 2027 for all the match venues and training grounds to be ready for use.
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