The visit by Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe that saw him give Kenya a clean bill of health in its preparation for the 2025 Africa Championships (CHAN) and 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is a massive boost for the country’s plans put up memorable continental show pieces.
Motsepe said he was happy with the levels of commitment and government support in all the projects that he said had started taking shape and tipped them to be world-class facilities upon completion. However, he did not mince his words on the number of works remaining, saying there was still a lot of work to accomplish the targets.
With CHAN kicking off on February 1, 2025, local football administrators, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), must now hit the ground running to ensure they deliver one of the best events in the tournament’s history. A lot of logistical work still needs to be done, ranging from transport and hospitality to transfers, training and match venues.
A Local Organising Committee (LOC) should be put in place soon, if not immediately, to start looking into these logistical issues.
The government must also ensure that the contractors meet their timelines and that the venues are in good shape by December.
A successful hosting of the CHAN event would act as a yardstick or rather a rehearsal for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Preparations for the Afcon competition should also continue seamlessly with tireless vigor as the benefits would be massive for the country when the time comes. Ivory Coast which hosted the event last year pocketed Sh1.8 billion (14 million dollars) from CAF and had a chance to extensively market the country to the world. The government should rethink its priorities and pool together its funds to complete the unfinished stadium to enable the national football teams to play at home.
It was demoralizing to watch Harambee Stars play a continental qualifying fixture meant to be played at home against Zimbabwe, in Kampala, due to the lack of a facility that meets CAF or Fifa standards.
Instead of the government allocating millions of money to refurbish sports facilities in counties for national events, then they end up being white elephants, they should consolidate the funds and put up a few that meet the required standards to avoid the current situation.
