The State Department for Sports is requesting Sh21.3 billion for Kenya to pay hosting rights for African Nations Championships (CHAN) in 2025 and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2027, as well as complete various projects related to the events.

 Documents tabled before the parliamentary Sports and Culture committee chaired by Webuye West MP Daniel Wanyama show that of the money, Sh5.6 billion comprising of Sh3.9 billion for AFCON and Sh1.7 billion for CHAN is to be paid to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Consultancy

 The remaining Sh586.4 million is for various expenses such as programmes and policies while Sh15.12 billion is for payment of consultancy services, as well as construction and renovations of various stadia related to the two events.

 Of the Sh586.4 million, Sh347.4 million is required to implement core mandate activities which include hosting international sports competitions, sports exchange programmes, AFCON and CHAN preparations, monitoring and evaluation of projects, enforcement of compliance with sports regulations and review of sports policy and Sports Acts.

 The Kenya Academies of Sports needs about Sh200 million to implement programs such as Talent identification and development from the grassroots training and capacity building of sports technical personnel as well as researching sports development while Sh39 million is required by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya to implement core programs such as Anti-Doping Education, testing and results management.

 The department raises concerns that in the 2025/2026 Financial Year, it was only allocated Sh17.1 billion in the development budget against a resource requirement of Sh59.4 billion.

Continental showpiece

 Kenya alongside Uganda and Tanzania in September 2023 were awarded the rights to stage the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations – which will be the first time in history that three countries will deliver the continental showpiece.  The two tournaments come at historic times because the last time the region hosted any of the top two key events under the CAF calendar was slightly over four decades ago.

 Reads the report: “AFCON and CHAN hosting rights Kenya is expected to host CHAN in 2025 and AFCON in 2027. The Sh5.6 billion is a mandatory payment to CAF as the hosting rights.”

 It adds: “The State Department has four exchequer-supported projects and 26 projects supported under the Stadia, Arts, and Social Development Fund (SASDF). They consist of CHAN, AFCON Stadia, regional stadia and sports academies.”

It is expected that the country will benefit from the two events in areas of tourism revenue cultural exchange as well as job creation for the service providers and vendors in and around the stadiums with hoteliers, taxi operators and advertising agencies also expected to benefit directly from the visitor

 Kenya will need at least 3,000 people to work as volunteers, team guides or security experts during the tournament.

 On the other hand, CAF will benefit immensely as it will own the full rights of the tournaments including ticketing, broadcast revenue, merchandising and sponsorship. The new revelations come barely a month after (CAF) announced that it has postponed CHAN from February 2025 to August 2025 to ensure all facilities meet the high standards required for a successful continental championship. The CHAN tournament, which features only players from their home countries’ domestic leagues, is a significant event on the African football calendar.

 Although important progress has been made in upgrading stadiums, training fields and other infrastructure, CAF believes that the extra time will ensure that the three host nations can deliver a world-class event in August

Development projects

 With regards to the  Sh15.12 billion required for various developmental projects that the department is undertaking to ensure the two events are completed on time, Sh2.5 billion is for the refurbishment of stadia infrastructure for CHAN 2025 and AFCON 2027 at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, Sh3.5 billion is for refurbishment of stadia infrastructure at the Kipchoge Keino Stadium, Sh3 billion is for the refurbishment of infrastructure at the Nyayo National Stadium, Sh1.758 billion for additional works at the Kasarani International Sports stadia while Sh 1.192 billion is for development of Kipchoge Keino training grounds.

 The documents further show that another Sh 1.057 billion is required for stadia consultancy for Kasarani and Kipchoge Keino stadium, Sh 1.192 billion is for Kipchoge Keino Training grounds (64 stadium, Eldoret Polytechnic, Kapsabet), Sh 84.63 million is required for the automation and digitization system for sports registrar while Sh606.48 million is for refurbishment of KAS training grounds for AFCON.

 The others are Sh 463.79 million for the refurbishment of the Kasarani Annex training ground for AFCON 2027, Sh 94.5 million for the refurbishment of Kirigiti -Kasarani training grounds, Sh 290 million for police Sacco training grounds for Nyayo National Stadium, Sh 87.88 million is for Ulinzi Training ground for Nyayo National Stadium while Sh 108.26 million is for the maintenance of training grounds for both CHAN 2025 and AFCON 2027.