The state of Nyayo National Stadium is once again under scrutiny after the venue’s electricity supply was cut off due to unpaid bills.
This has disrupted the plans of Nairobi United, who will use the venue as the home ground for Sunday’s CAF Confederation Cup Group “B” match between them and Tanzania’s Azam FC.
Nairobi United, nicknamed the ‘Naibois’, are expected to face Azam at 4 pm.
However, Sports Kenya, the organisation responsible for managing government-owned sports facilities, has played down the crisis, stating that there is “no cause for alarm”.
Sports Kenya Public Relations Officer Rakki Asman confirmed to Nation Sport that power had been disconnected at the stadium.
However, he did not disclose how long the outage had lasted or how much the facility owes in unpaid bills.
“It’s just a routine disconnection, but we’re working to restore power. I’m not sure of the amount of the outstanding bill. I will have to check with the finance office,” he said.
On Thursday, January 22, Nairobi United’s Chief Executive Officer, Nelson Odaya, disclosed that, although the club had already paid Sh333,600 to book the facility, they were still required to hire eight generators to power the four floodlights and procure barriers to control crowd movement.
He said that these should be provided by Sports Kenya, given that the club has already paid the booking fees.
“If there is no solution, we will have no choice but to hire generators. But it will be an unnecessary cost for the club, given that we have already paid the booking fees,” said Odaya.
An adequate power supply at the stadium is essential, as Confederation of African Football regulations stipulate that the dressing rooms must be well-lit and equipped with hot showers, among other requirements.
The match’s general coordinator is expected to confirm the full list of requirements to be met by the home team today, ahead of the match.
“As you may be aware, international matches do not rely on electricity as per CAF requirements. Therefore, the lack of power should not worry anyone,” said Asman.
He added: “We have generators. Today, the stadium was inspected and everything was fine. The underground sprinklers were tested and are working very well.
“As you know, that cannot happen without adequate power,” the official stated.
Nation Sport has established that the contractors refurbishing the stadium left due to unpaid invoices.
The other teams in the pool are Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca and Maniema Union from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
After playing two matches, Nairobi are bottom of the table, having lost 1–0 to Maniema and 3–0 to Casablanca.
Casablanca top the table with six points, followed by Maniema.
