A high-level delegation from the Confederation of African Football (Caf) is expected in the country today for a four-day inspections of facilities for the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan).
The biennial football tournament for local-based players will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania from February 1 to 24 next year and involve 19 teams.
At the same time, Kenya’s Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the tournament will be named on Wednesday according to Football Kenya Federation interim CEO Patrick Korir.
In a statement on Friday, CAF said that the touring delegation in Nairobi will comprise representatives from various departments including marketing, communication, broadcast, competition, safety and security, medical, and protocol.
The continental football governing body said they will be joined in the inspection tour by government and Football Kenya Federation (FKF) officials.
Stadiums, training venues, hotels, and airports are among the facilities that the delegation will inspect.
An overall steering committee that comprises selected members of each of the three LOCs will also be established.
On September 17, CAF president Patrice Motsepe led an inspection of Kenya’s preparedness to co-host the upcoming Chan and the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations alongside its two neighbours.
To get clean bill of health Kenya must have at least one Caf certified stadium and approved training venues.
The match venues must be located near an airport and a level-five hospital. Additionally, the host cities should offer accommodation in either four-star or five-star hotels.
In terms of match venues, both Uganda and Tanzania are ahead of Kenya since they each own at least one approved stadium.
Tanzania have been hosting international matches at the 60,000-seater Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam while Uganda have been playing at the 42,000-seater Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
None of Kenya’s facilities currently enjoy Fifa and Caf approval fording Harambee Stars to play international matches in foerign countries.
On recommendation by CAF, former Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba announced in April that Kenya had replaced Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega County, with the 30,000-seater capacity Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi as the primary venue for the Chan matches.
This decision was made because Bukhungu Stadium needed a significant improvement, while there was limited time before the tournament’s initial start date of September.
The 60,000-capacity Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani is the other venue earmarked for the Chan, while the training venues are Police Sacco Stadium, Ulinzi Sports Complex, MISC Annex, and Kenya Academy of Sports in Kasarani. The government has since pushed the re-opening of MISC from November to December.
However, it remains to be seen if this will be achieved, as significant work still needs to be completed at the venue.
Photos posted by Sports CS Kipchumba Murkomen on his social media accounts on November 4 after he inspected the facility showed that the stadium was yet to be fitted with seats with construction material strewn on the ground.
Nyayo was closed in August for renovation. Some of the requirements that Nyayo National Stadium needs to fulfil are; functioning floodlights, changing rooms, and a media centre situated on level three.
