Speed up stadia works
It is embarrassing that Kenya, touted as the leading economy in the region, does not currently have a stadium that meets standards set by world football governing body Fifa.
Fifa and the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) declared Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, and the Nyayo National Stadium, the country’s two biggest sports facilities, unfit to stage international football matches.
Football Kenya Federation were left with no option but to shift Kenya’s home 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Burundi and Cote d’Ivoire next month to a foreign country, in this case Malawi, much to the chagrin of Harambee Stars fans who wanted to cheer their beloved team on home soil.
It was therefore encouraging when Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum told the Sports, Culture and Tourism committee this week that, at the request of the government, a CAF delegation will soon inspect Nyayo Stadium with a view to passing it to host international matches. The PS revealed that some work had been done on the stadium to satisfy minimum conditions set by Fifa.
We hope the seal of approval will come so that Kenyans can enjoy watching their national team play its home matches at, well, home.
As matters stand, because of the unavailability of Kasarani and Nyayo stadiums, Athletics Kenya are mulling staging their upcoming National Athletics Champions and Paris Olympic Games trials at Ulinzi Sports Complex. This venue is, however, not certified by World Athletics, meaning results obtained by our all-conquering sports men and women cannot be ratified.
This should be a wake-up call to the authorities to speed up completion of refurbishment work on the many public stadiums that have been perpetually under renovation over the past decade.
It is unacceptable for a global sports power house like Kenya to operate without a single internationally approved facility amid a busy international calendar.
