Upgrade stadia as we bid 2027 AFCON
By Editorial.Team, May 18, 2023The announcement by President William Ruto that Kenya has joined Tanzania and Uganda in a bid to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations is certainly a heart balm to football enthusiasts.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba said recently that the three countries had agreed to present three stadiums each in the document dubbed the East African Community “Pamoja Bid” for the 24-team tournament.
Unmistakably, the only international football extravaganza to have been held in Kenya was the 1987 All Africa Games which saw Harambee Stars emerge runners-up to Egypt albeit controversially.
Local fans may have heaved a huge sigh of relief following the 2027 AFCON joint bidding particularly after Kenya went through near-misses to host the competition due to several bottlenecks, the major of which was lack of enough infrastructure to receive a nod from the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Just in hindsight, in 1993, Kenya had been chosen to host the 1996 AFCON. For the second time in 1996, Kenya won the bid to host Africa’s second-tier tournament that was eventually taken to South Africa after CAF adjudged the country to be lacking stadia that meet international standards including the proposed Mombasa Municipal Stadium.
In a nutshell, lack of preparedness for the event is what cost Kenya the lifetime opportunity. Sadly, by missing these opportunities the country missed football development with the hospitality industry suffering the most.
While the possibility of the three nations successfully bidding to host the competition is neither here nor there, we must appreciate the fact that there are advantages that will come with Kenya being one of the settings of the showpiece.
Admittedly, hosting a major sporting event can give many economic, social, and cultural benefits, and considering that Sports CS has picked Nyayo National Stadium and Kasarani among the ideal venues, it is bound to increase the profile of Nairobi thus leading to lasting economic benefits.
But while we are rubbing our hands with glee hoping that the bid is successful, the sports ministry should acknowledge the fact that both Kasarani and Nyayo are still wanting as far as hosting the competitions is concerned which calls for their urgent uplift before the deadline to present the bid lapses.