Football Kenya Federation (FKF), in partnership with the Confederation of African Football (Caf), is running a three-day workshop in Nairobi focused on safety and security tips for match stewards.

The conference, held at the Novotel Hotel in Westlands, primarily focuses on the Safe Stadium Initiative, addressing issues related to football development with respect to stadium security response.

Fans and players, who are the primary targets of the training, are often felt to be overlooked, highlighting the necessity of implementing new ideas for stewards.

Caf instructor Xolile Nokuthula Vilakati from the Caf Security & Safety Department, alongside David Okello (Caf Safety & Security instructor), guided the participants through the training.

About 40 participants, including officials from the FKF, stewards representing the FKF-Premier League, private security teams and rapid response units, will receive expert training focused on stadium management.

The attendees will learn about advanced security maintenance during and after matches, as well as other related activities within stadium confines.

Kenya is the 10th country to undergo this training, and Caf is using modern training methodologies to help address the needs of Football Associations (FAs) across the continent, particularly regarding crowd management.

At the same time, Caf will emphasize the stewards’ ability to skillfully manage emergency situations and highly volatile environments during certain matches.

As this marks the beginning of such training, it is expected to cascade down to the FKF Premier League (FKF-PL), National Super League (NSL), FKF-Women’s Premier League (FKF-WPL), FKF-Women’s National Super League (FKF-WNSL), FKF Division One, and Women’s Division One (WDIV).

This will ensure uniformity across all levels of competition in the country.

Caf’s manual on security and the accompanying curriculum will cover a range of topics aimed at ensuring safety during football events.