Come on Joho! give Mombasa Stadium kiss of life, kindly...
What you need to know:
- The youth, who easily accessed Mombasa Municipal Stadium, and at times played curtain raiser matches before Bandari’s league matches, have nowhere to play. They cannot access Mbaraki, a private club.
- Governor Ali Hassan Joho, kindly prioritise the completion of the stadium so that our youth and clubs have somewhere to play.
Just when will renovation works at the Mombasa Municipal Stadium be completed and the stadium officially opened for use?
This is the question we are asking as Bandari Football Club fans, as another opportunity to participate in international football competition beckons.
It’s frustrating that Bandari FC have been forced to play their league matches at their private member’s club, the KPA Mbaraki Sports Club, which was, however, not cleared by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to host international matches both in 2018 and last year when the ports men competed in international inter-club football.
That this is happening despite Mombasa being the second largest city in Kenya, and a major tourist destination, is a very bitter pill to swallow though we have been forced to live with it.
Bandari, who are the FKF Cup defending champions, look all set to retain the title if their current form is anything to go by with the pre-quarter-final clash against Sofapaka on the cards next week.
Meaning should this Cinderella run continue and we retain the title, we will once again be forced to use Nairobi as our home ground.
Neglect is written all over the Mombasa Municipal Stadium that was closed for renovation in 2013 but has now become a breeding ground for dangerous reptiles like snakes that have taken advantage of the overgrown vegetation on the pitch.
The stadium has gone to the dogs. And even this is an insult to dogs, as the scenario is much worse.
The drainage system at the stadium collapsed a long time ago while the venue is surrounded by illegal structures including food kiosks, sand harvesting dealers and carpenters, among other traders.
The stadium’s perimeter wall is disaster in waiting.
There was talk of a Turkish firm starting construction work at the facility. But the bulldozers brought to the site roared for three days and the engines went silent again.
The project which Babu said would cost Sh1.7 billion and take a year to complete, was to see the new look facility have four changing rooms, separate changing rooms for men and women referees and multipurpose arena for basketball.
Facilities for netball, futsal and volleyball, as well as an Olympic standard swimming pool, a restaurant that would accommodate 790 persons and a fully furnished media centre were also on the ambitious architectural plans.
The youth, who easily accessed Mombasa Municipal Stadium, and at times played curtain raiser matches before Bandari’s league matches, have nowhere to play. They cannot access Mbaraki, a private club.
Governor Ali Hassan Joho, kindly prioritise the completion of the stadium so that our youth and clubs have somewhere to play.
