After 2027 Afcon bid win, Kenya must now defy history

During the good old days of the daily newspaper when people would queue on the stands to catch the latest, hottest news, fresh off the press, journalists were fairly insulated from their audience.

I mean, people would react to a story published with the usual human emotions – happiness, sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, indignation, satisfaction, name it, but feedback would come via a reader’s letter, a phone call to the news desk and in-person visit to the newsroom.

Not anymore. With new media where storytelling is done in real time and the reactions, likewise, authors have nowhere to hide.

Publish and be damned there and then. The audience are waiting to give their two cents, verily and visibly.

I got a dose of that exactly a week today following the publication of this column titled “Losing 2027 Afcon hosting rights offers Kenya a silver lining”.

Read: Weep not folks, losing the 2027 Afcon hosting rights offers Kenya a silver lining

I basically argued that the Pamoja bid fronted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations would fail because of our history with CAF and dearth of facilities.

I went ahead to state that this would still be a win for Kenya as the government would end up building the required world-class stadiums that would enable the country to successfully host a future Afcon tournament.

When the winning bid, Pamoja, was announced, reaction to my opinion came thick and fast.

X, think of KOT (Kenyans On Twitter), as usual, had very punchy, no holds barred retorts, some reeking of sadistic gloat, others humorous, and some downright mean.
Aloise Maluvu chortled: “Eat your humble pie”.

Someone going simply by the name Livingstone, simply hailed: “Yoh”.

A gleeful sounding Lynda Ambiyo could not help herself: “Shame” she tweeted with three laughing emojis

Tonnie Turner, like Isaac Newton under the apple tree pondered:  “I wonder how this chap is feeling?”

I think folks on Facebook are more considerate and measured , most of them.

“How come all football bloggers were saying East Africa will not get it?” Ba Tahmani politely intoned.

“And the way you guys were all over town pouring out misinformation,” James Okongo wondered.

Santulip Philip did not hide what he felt: “Shame on you, prophet of doom” he cursed in capital letters.

Anyhow, I was amongst the first people to happily offer my congratulations even as many others predicted we would be stripped of hosting rights sooner or later, while others wondered what the big deal was.

Truth be told, it will require a lot of work, as Sports CS Ababu Namwamba and FKF President Nick Mwendwa emphasized, to host the 24-nation tournament in four years’ time.

I am still waiting to see the “immediate” closure of Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) and Nyayo National Stadium for extensive refurbishment that will transform them into ultra-modern, world class stadiums.

There is already bickering noise over the hosting venues.

Whereas the bid document specifically mentioned MISC and Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi and Kip Keino Stadium in Eldoret as host venues, two governors have come out demanding that their areas be considered for staging matches.

Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o and his Kakamega counterpart Fernades Barasa reckon that their region is home of football and thus deserve to be given the privilege of hosting Africa’s best footballers.

In that vein, Machakos and Kiambu counties can as well make noise. They are in close proximity to Nairobi where the transport network could be considered excellent.

Nakuru is home to Afraha, perhaps Kenyans oldest stadium, opened in 1948. The county also hosted one of the famous Olympic Centres set up by German coach Bernard Zgoll that groomed Kenya’s truly golden generation of footballers in 1970/80s.

They should ask for a slot.

While at it, Mombasa should also demand hosting rights. They are the second largest city in Kenya and well known internationally as a hot tourist spot.

What of Garissa? Build a stadium for them and take the tournament to a region that wants to see football launched in a big way. Spreading the game to all corners of the country.

I could continue. Eldoret, already declared “Home of Champions for athletics, will also be eager to be “Home of African Football Champions”.

Let us all work with the bid document and actualize the dream.

And here are some sobering facts.

The last six Afcon winning bids have ended up not staging the tournament.

Libya won the rights to host Afcon 2013 but it was taken to South Africa. Morocco won the 2015 bid but they insisted on a postponement following an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. CAF gave the tournament to Equatorial Guinea.

In 2017 Libya were the designated hosts but a second bid was conducted and the tournament held in Gabon. Egypt hosted the 2018 edition after bid winners Cameroon were found not to be ready.

Cameroon were given the 2021 Afcon that Cote d’Ivoire had won the rights to host.

Cote d’Ivoire were then handed the 2023 edition that had originally been won by Guinea.

And you guessed it. The 2025 tournament is going to Morocco after Guinea lost the rights due to inadequate preparations.