Talanta Hela Stadium clear favourite to host 2027 Africa Nations Cup final
An artistic impression of the Talanta Hela Stadium that will be constructed at Jamhuri ground along Ngong Road, in Nairobi.
What you need to know:
- If the 2027 Afcon was held this month, Benjamin Mkapa Stadium would definitely be the only candidate worthy to host the opening match.
- By 2027, going by the flurry of announcements and activities, the face of the stadium environment in the region will dramatically change.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?
Or should I ask, crystal ball, crystal ball, who will host the opening and the final matches of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations?
Which stadium(s) in East Africa will be deserving of these two honours in the 24-nation, biennial football bonanza, easily the biggest sports tournament on the continent?
As things stand now, I will elect Benjamin Mkapa Stadium. Whatever Kenyans think, it is the most modern and most impressive stadium in East Africa.
The 60,000-capacity stadium was completed in 2007 by Beijing Construction Engineering Group of China at a cost of $56 million (Sh8.1 billion), and many a time I have seen it filled to capacity during international matches involving Taifa Stars and that electric Dar derby pitting age-old rivals Yanga against Simba.
In fact, if the 2027 Afcon was held this month, Benjamin Mkapa Stadium would definitely be the only candidate worthy to host the opening match, the two semi-finals and the final. Easily.
Moi International Sport Centre (MISC), in Nairobi, also built by the Chinese, would be my second choice facility to host the opening or final.
Kenya’s biggest and best sports facility, MISC, was completed in 1987 in time for the delayed 1987 All Africa Games.
The first time it was filled to capacity was during the All Africa Games football final featuring Harambee Stars versus Egypt on August 12 of that year. The Pharaohs silenced that partisan sea of humanity with a 1-0 victory
I have seen MISC at full capacity for a football match on only two other occasions – when a young Kenya side held the star-studded Super Eagles of Nigeria to a 1-1 draw in a 1998 World Cup qualifier on January 12, 1997, and when Harambee Stars thumped Ethiopia 3-0 in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier where fans were let in free of charge on October 14, 2018.
Undergo extensive renovations
MISC also features a 5,000-seat indoor arena, an aquatic centre, an auxiliary pitch and running track and a 108-room hotel.
My third choice would be Nelson Mandela National Stadium-Nambole in Uganda. The 45,000-seater facility was completed in 1997 with a $36 million (Sh5.2 billion) Chinese grant.
MISC and Mandela will undergo extensive renovations.
In Kenya, also earmarked for refurbishment are Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.
Uganda has almost completed renovation work on the famous Nakivubo Stadium, in Kampala where Kenya defied a hostile environment to beat a President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hajj Idi Amin Dada-backed Uganda Cranes in the final of the 1983 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.
But this is now. By 2027, going by the flurry of announcements and activities, the face of the stadium environment in the region will dramatically change.
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, in a televised address on December 23, announced that a third world-class stadium would be constructed in the western district of Hoima where the Kabaale International Airport is located.
The stadium will be a 15,000 seater and cost USh380 billion (Sh14 billion).
The long-delayed 30,000 seater Akii-Bua Stadium in Lira City will also be constructed at an estimated cost of USh180 billion (Sh6.6 billion).
Tanzania will renovate the 35,000-capacity CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza in addition to building two new, state-of-the-art football stadiums in Arusha and Dodoma as instructed by President Samia Suluhu last September following the successful Pamoja Bid.
Details have yet to be revealed of the stadium specifics but I do not see them overshadowing Tanzania’s jewel -- Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
Obvious choice to host the final
Kenya has done more than make announcements.
On Friday, President William Ruto accompanied by Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba ceremoniously broke ground to signal the start of construction of the 60,000-capacity Talanta Hela Stadium at Jamhuri ground along Ngong Road in Nairobi.
The government released stunning images of how the stadium, to be completed by December 2025 by a Chinese firm and KDF, will look like.
Even sceptical Kenyans could not help but marvel at the audacious project, the first modern sports facility to be erected in the country in 27 years.
President Ruto did promise the construction of Wote and historical Kamariny stadiums in six months, but who cares, as long as this projected, wonderful edifice at Jamhuri ground stands tall.
Come 2027, no other stadium in East Africa will be able to hold a candle to Talanta Hela Stadium which will, rightly, be the obvious choice to host the final, and certainly one of the semi-finals, if not the opening ceremony as well.
My only regret is this generic name, Talanta Hela.
If it is to be used purposely for football and rugby, why not name it after perhaps one of Kenya’s greatest exponents of the games? A national vote would decide this matter.
I personally would go for Joe Kadenge Stadium.
Anyhow, a modern national stadium after more than 30 years will be a memorable gift to Kenya’s sporting fraternity and a precious legacy of 2027 Afcon.
