Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya (centre) and his Interior and National administration counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen (second, left) tour Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on January 7, 2025.
The government has announced that all home matches involving Kenya’s national football teams will be held at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani from June as part of the testing phase of the facility that has been undergoing renovation.
The facility is among the venues Kenya has earmarked for the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan), and 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) that the country will co-host with Uganda and Tanzania.
Chan is a biennial football tournament exclusively reserved for locally based footballers. The upcoming edition has been scheduled for August 2 to 30.
MISC Kasarani has since August 2023 remained closed for renovation in readiness for the two championships.
“From June, we should be seeing more test matches on this ground just to make sure that everything is in place. If we have international matches in between, we will not do it at Nyayo National Stadium but here,” Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said on Monday after leading a delegation from Sports and Defence ministries on an inspection tour of the facility. Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Soipan Tuya was also present.
Renovation of facilities
Football Kenya Federation did not immediately clarify whether it has discussed relocation of national team matches from Nyayo to Kasarani.
President William Ruto has tasked the Ministry of Defence to supervise renovation of facilities earmarked for the two tournaments.
They include Kasarani Annex, the Kenya Academy of Sports, Police Sacco Stadium, Ulinzi Sports Complex, and Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu.
For the 2027 Afcon, Kenya is also building Talanta Sports City Stadium in Nairobi and renovating the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.
In his presentation before the National Assembly’s Committee on Sports and Culture on Thursday last week, Brigadier Titus Sokobe from Kenya Defence Forces said renovation work at MISC Kasarani is expected to be complete on June 30.
The work is currently 79 percent complete.
A spot-check at the facility revealed that major works, which include the pitch, canopy, seats, lights, VIP, and presidential pavilion have been completed.
Successful event
Some of the work remaining, Mvurya said, are software-related, which include Media Center and Tribune, Video Assistant Referee, and screens.
The last time MISC hosted an international match was on September 12, 2023, when Kenya lost 1-0 to South Sudan in a men’s football friendly match.
Nyayo re-opened its doors for international matches on March 16 after over a year when Kenya’s Under-17 Women’s football team thumped Uganda 3-0 in the return leg of their 2025 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers. CS Tuya assured that in their oversight role, they will ensure the projects are completed on time and to the required standards.
She expressed confidence that Kenya will deliver a successful event.
“Our technical teams both from the Ministry of Defence and Sports have done a splendid job and we are confident we are going to put up a good show,” she said on Monday.
