Cote d’Ivoire 2023 shows Kenya faces tough task to be ready for Afcon 2027

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was an exceptional tournament for many reasons -- the main one being Cote d’Ivoire’s remarkable journey to ultimate glory.

The Ivorians, also known as the Elephants came back from the dead to reach the final where they rallied from behind to beat Nigeria’s Super Eagles 2-1 at Stade Olympique Alassane Quattara Stadium. 

The West African nation hosted a successful 24-nation tournament alone -- setting the bar for Morocco 2025 and Kenya/Uganda/ Tanzania 2027.

Morocco, with their excellent facilities are largely expected to comfortably host next year’s editions.

However, the co-hosting by the three East African countries after their “ Pamoja Bid” won the rights to host the tournament last year, will be keenly observed considering the region’s lack of requisite infrastructure, read stadiums.

Poor preparations

With just 35 months remaining the three East African countries will need proper planning, coordination, adequate resource allocation and sound leadership to beat the strict deadline set by the Confederation of African Football (Caf). And to defy history.

Kenya was stripped of the hosting rights for the 1996 Afcon and 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) due to poor preparations.

The joint bid identified several matches venues and training grounds.

Apart from refurbishing the 60,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), 30,000-seater Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret (capacity to be increased from 15,000 to 30,000) a new 60,000-seater stadium called Talanta Hela, will be built at Jamhuri Park, Nairobi.

The Kenyan government is pretty confident they will deliver the 2027 Afcon.

“We gave assurance right from the beginning and we will be ready for Afcon 2027. From what can be seen here, we are perfectly on track to hit the target of completing the refurbishing work on time,” said Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba on February 1, when he conducted an impromptu inspection of the refurbishment work going on at the MISC.

'On track'

The work is being overseen by the Kenya Defence Forces at an undisclosed cost.

On Thursday, Namwamba said they were on track to build the infrastructure required and put in place all other logistics.

“We are very much on track with Afcon in terms of background preparations. We have put together a structure to ensure we are alive and on time with the preparations. We also consult weekly with my colleagues in Tanzania and Uganda on our preparations,” said Namwamba when he appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Sports and Culture.

“The works on Kasarani are going as we planned since it was closed on December 15. The design for Talanta Stadium has been completed. Infrastructure wise, I can confidently tell Kenyans we are right on track,” added a confident Namwamba.

Work is yet to start at Kipchoge Keino and Nyayo which is still being used to host Football Kenya Federation Premier League matches. 

Time is ticking.

It took Cote d’Ivoire nine years to have all the six facilities ready for the tournament.

Work on the 60,000-seater Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan started in 2016 and the facility was officially inaugurated four years later on October 3, 2020.

It cost $257m (Sh40 billion at today’s exchange rate) and boasts of amenities such as athletics track, conference facilities, gyms, auditorium and VIP facilities.

Both Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo (capacity 20,000; cost $84m/Sh13.1bn) and Stade Laurent Pokou in San Pedro (capacity 20,000; cost $68m/Sh10.6bn) took four years to be completed from 2019 to 2023 while Stade Charles Konan Banny (capacity 20,000; cost $79m/Sh12.3bn) was constructed in two years.

Host countries delays

According to the BBC, Cote d’Ivoire spent more than Sh154 billion ($1 billion) in roads, stadiums, hospitals and other infrastructure related to the hosting of the tournament.

According to African Business magazine Cameroon spent over $885million (Sh123.3 billion at today’s exchange rates) in renovation and upgrading infrastructure - roads, hospitals, airports, hotels – and on the development of the sports facilities. 

The 60,000-capacity Olembe Stadium in the capital, Yaounde used for the opening match, cost about $280m (Sh40.6bn) to construct.

It is important to note that Cameroon were initially given the rights to host the 2019 Afcon in 2014. 
However, Caf switched the 2019 tournament to Egypt because of Cameroon’s delay in the delivery of infrastructure.

Cameroon were then given the rights to host the 2021 edition which was, in fact, held in 2022, a good eight years after the West African nation was first handed hosting rights. 

None of the three East African countries has given the estimated costs, either jointly or individually, for hosting the 2027 Afcon. 

It will certainly be in the region of billions of shillings.

For starters, each of the three countries will have to part with a Caf tournament commitment fee of Sh4.3 billion. 

Assuming everything goes according to plan and the tournament kicks off as scheduled in 2027, the three East African counties will have to grapple with an age-old problem at the Afcon -- dismal attendance at stadiums.

This is especially prominent in matches not involving the home team and when the home team is knocked out of the competition.

In Cote d’Ivoire 2023, for instance less than 10,000 fans attended the Group “A” match between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea at the giant Alassane Ouattara Stadium.

Many seats were empty at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan for the Group “B” matches between Egypt and Mozambique and between Ghana and Cape Verde.

The last time a capacity crowd watched Kenya playing at home was on October 14, 2018- when Harambee Stars crushed Ethiopia 3-0 at MISC in a 2019 Afcon qualifier.

However, the attendance was impressive because fans were let in for free in a publicized strategy to fill the stadium and give the hosts the maximum support by the 12th man.

As 2027 fast approaches, Kenya can at least do one more benchmarking in Morocco next year before staging what will be a historic Afcon, one jointly held, for the very first time, in three nations.