Kenya is now better prepared than ever, states Namwamba

Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has reiterated the levels of preparedness ahead of the 2027 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament to be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Namwamba was speaking during a joint meeting held at the Swahili Beach Hotel in Diani, Kwale County yesterday, where government officials and federation bosses from all three countries attended to know the progress of each country for the continental showpiece.

“Kenya is more prepared than ever before. We want to give Africa and the world an experience of a lifetime,” said Namwamba who was flanked by his Principal Secretaries Engineer Peter Tum and Ismail Maalim Madey.

Speaker after speaker talked of how their countries were on the right track for the inaugural continental event, with Tanzania’s Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports Tabia Maulid Mwita saying that her country already had eight venues that met the CAF requirements.

Tanzania and Zanzibar are well prepared, with facilities in Dar Es Salaam, Arusha, Dodoma and Zanzibar.
“Zanzibar is a tourist haven and fans will have an experience of a lifetime. Amani Stadium will be one of the venues that will host Afcon 2027 together with Benjamin Mkapa, but there are two new facilities being built in Arusha and Dodoma from January,” Mwita said.

She added: “The Amani Stadium was a 12,000-seater facility but it has been uplifted to a 20,000-seater facility. We also have a 30,000-seater facility called Gombani Stadium in Pemba which will be used as a training facility.”

The East Africa Pamoja Afcon 2027 needs six stadiums to host the event. Two of the stadiums must be able to accommodate at least 40,000 fans and the rest should have a minimum of 20,000 capacity.
Each of the three East African countries is expected to have the facilities ready by 2025 and also deposit Sh 4.6 billion each, for the event to be a reality.

“Talanta Stadium will have its groundbreaking next month and it will be ready within 24 months. Works at Kasarani, Kipchoge Keino, Nyayo Stadium, Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega and Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Kisumu will also start next month and we have timelines for them to be ready,” Namwamba said.

Uganda’s representative in the meeting, Rodgers Byamukama their main facility Namboole Stadium will be ready by January. He said Nakivubo and Hoima Stadium were also under good progress in meeting the required standard.