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State appeals to Caf to let fans fill up Kasarani during Kenya vs Madagascar game
President William Ruto joins thousands of Kenyans at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on August 17, 2025 in cheering Harambee Stars during their Group 'A' match against Zambia in the 2024 African Nations Championship.
What you need to know:
- Caf ordered Kenya matches at Kasarani be played at 60 per cent of capacity last week following repeated security and safety breaches by fans.
- Sports Cabinet Secretary Mvurya said it is commendable that many Kenyans have shown patriotism and are yearning to watch the matches.
The government has formally requested the Confederation of Africa Football (Caf) to allow Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani be filled to capacity when Kenya hosts Madagascar in a quarter finals match of the 2024 Africa Nations Championship (Chan) on Friday.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya on Wednesday said that through the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the Chan Local Organising Committee, the government has petitioned Caf to let 48,000 fans enter MISC to watch the highly-anticipated knock-out match.
“We have put the request because we would like (Harambee) Stars to get maximum home support,” said Mvurya in Nairobi, adding that fans behaved well in last Sunday's Group 'A' match against Zambia.
Kenyan fans cheer their team during the 2024 African Nations Championship Group 'A' match against Morocco at Moi Internationals Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on August 10, 2025.
Caf ordered Kenya matches at Kasarani be played at 60 per cent of capacity last week following repeated security and safety breaches by fans during Harambee Stars earlier group matches.
Only 27,000 tickets were offered for sale for the match against Zambia, which Kenya won 1-0.
The African football governing body also fined FKF Sh12.5 million because of the security lapses experienced in the Kenya group games against Morocco, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We are hoping for feedback but even so we have added more fans zones so that those who wouldn’t be able to make it to the stadium can also enjoy the match from the designated fans zones,” the Cabinet Secretary added.
Mvurya said it is commendable that many Kenyans have shown patriotism and are yearning to watch the matches.
The overwhelming interest led to the ticket portal selling matches to crash on Tuesday. The portal got back on line on Wednesday but many Kenyans fans still struggled to purchase tickets as the cheapest, going for Sh250, sold out early in the day.
Kenyan fans cheer their team during the 2024 African Nations Championship Group 'A' match against Morocco at Moi Internationals Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on August 10, 2025.
Mvurya again called for patience saying Caf and the federation were working hard to see that fans acquire their tickets for the match.
“Before the end of Wednesday the issue of the portal shall have been resolved and fans will have a chance to buy their tickets,” said Mvurya.
“We are experiencing a high volume of traffic and using a virtual queue to limit the amount of users on the website at the same time. This will ensure you have the best possible online experience,” is the message this writer got for the better part of Wednesday after several attempts to buy an ordinary ticket, with the site putting him on the waiting list for hours.
