Government to Speed Up Stadia Upgrade Despite CHAN Postponement

For years, Kenya has been one big theatre of absurdity.
What is urgent is done hastily, and when the pressure has somewhat subsided, the authorities will quite often return to factory settings and say, "There is no hurry in Africa."

Very urgent projects will no longer be a priority until the urgency returns. It is a country so predictable in its laxity.

This week, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) postponed the highly anticipated African Nations Championship (CHAN) football tournament from February to August 2025.
The tournament was subsequently moved to Cameroon after Kenya failed to complete renovations at the Nyayo National Stadium and the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Soon after the tournament went to Cameroon, the Kenyan government folded up operations and the stadiums were closed with no further work going on.

Under the leadership of former sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba, it was very promising that Kenya would have beaten the December 31, 2024, CAF inspection deadline.

However, after the July 2024 Cabinet reshuffle, new sports CS Kipchumba Murkomen's leadership saw a slowed pace in these construction works, perhaps even missing the CAF deadline was as a result of this decline.

Kenyan sports stakeholders urge new Sports CS Salim Mvurya to ensure the works continue with the same speed and quality as has been ongoing just before the postponement.

Football stakeholders must hold the government of the day to account by maintaining the need to complete stadiums in time.

These stadiums were almost set to host a major continental championship without first hosting other high-profile matches and testing their capabilities of hosting CHAN.

Kenya now has the opportunity to have the stadiums completed and host high-risk matches like the Mashemeji derby between Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, or the crowd-pulling Shabana FC as well as several international matches to ascertain the capability and preparedness before hosting CHAN.

The President of CAF Dr. Patrice Motsepe expressed gratitude to President William Ruto of Kenya, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda for their "leadership, commitment, and the good progress" that has been made in building and upgrading the facilities (stadiums, training fields, hotels, hospitals and other infrastructure)

This commitment must not fizzle out or be seen to dwindle before our stadiums are ready. We must build infrastructure with the same urgency that was there before CAF pushed CHAN to August, after all, CHAN would still have been played without Kenya, and many East Africans, especially on social media believe Kenya was the cause for the postponement.