Confederation of African Football (CAF) Secretary General Véron Mosengo-Omba has reiterated that Kenya will host the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), despite acknowledging delays in infrastructure and logistical preparations.

Speaking during an inspection tour of key CHAN venues in Nairobi on May 27, 2025, Mosengo-Omba noted visible progress since his last visit in December 2024 and expressed cautious optimism that Kenya would meet the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) expectations in time for the tournament scheduled for August.

“I came here in December, you remember, with the CAF President. I said to you that there was no grass on different pitches. Today, you can’t even play golf there. This shows the huge progress that has been made since December,” he stated.

Mosengo-Omba added that although there are still technical gaps that need fixing, CAF is satisfied with the current pace of work and Kenya can confidently host the tournament—so long as the country maintains its current momentum.

“If you continue with this momentum, we will play here. But you have to continue the momentum that we have seen today. If you continue this, we are here in August to play,” he remarked.

Caution

While acknowledging the strides made, the CAF official warned that further delays or substandard work could impact not just CHAN but also Kenya’s hosting of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which the country is co-hosting with Uganda and Tanzania.

“This will be the top, everybody looking up to this, the AFCON 2027 here. They are ready to come here, but if we don’t deliver properly on CHAN, people will say, ‘Well, I can’t waste my time in AFCON,’” he warned.

Mosengo-Omba stressed that seemingly minor issues—like incomplete sanitary facilities—would not be overlooked by CAF.

“If I say that someone forgot to connect the water in the toilet, for me it’s not a good point. I cannot allow the competition to start. In the past, people would say it’s a small thing, Ok, it’s good, they can play tomorrow. For us, no,” he said.

He emphasised that these logistical elements are essential to meeting international standards.

“The standard, when President Motsepe came, he put the standard of competition. You see, even the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, they are still talking the quality of briefing, of pitches, of organisation; they were of very high standard,” he added, highlighting the stringent standards established by previous tournaments.

Ongoing upgrades

Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya echoed Mosengo-Omba’s sentiments, highlighting the government’s ongoing efforts to address remaining gaps.

He noted that significant work has already been completed at key venues like Kasarani Stadium.

“For example, in Kasarani, we have done the canopy, fixed the seats, and many of the field-related issues are done. But we have other areas like VAR and many other equipment that need to be fixed,” Mvurya explained.

He also mentioned that the government had recently disbursed Ksh400 million to contractors to expedite work ahead of CAF’s August deadline.

“This morning we have also paid Ksh400 million to the contractor so that they can fix some of the issues that are required,” he reaffirmed.

I have welcomed the positive remarks by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as it expressed satisfaction with the steady progress Kenya has made in its preparations to host the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in August 2025.

As a government, we are firmly committed… pic.twitter.com/vbKjMGnNAR

— H.E Salim_Mvurya, EGH. (@Waziri_Mvurya) May 27, 2025