Kenya races to host Chan draw in Nairobi as deadline to ready tournament venue nears

Dar es salaam’s 60,000-seater Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium and Kampala’s 45,000 capacity Namboole Stadium have been lined up to host the tournament alongside Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani (55,000) and Nyayo National Stadium (18,000).

Zanzibar’s 15,000-seater Amaan Sports Complex is also listed as one of the possible host venues.

The tournament’s draw will be held from 8pm local time on Wednesday at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), as hosts Kenya fight to tick the right boxes and have the two competition venues ready for next month’s action.

Both Nyayo National Stadium and Moi International Sports Centre were constructed for the 1987 All Africa Games, and the 38-year-old facilities have required major renovations to keep up with the demands of hosting modern sport.

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With tight turnaround times, the Kenyan government has enlisted the services of Kenya Defence Forces technical teams to supervise the stadia upgrades. 

The military team is also overseeing the construction of a brand new, 60,000 capacity Talanta Sports City in Nairobi, which will be the centrepiece venue for the 2027 Afcon finals. 

For next month’s Chan finals, Nairobi will host nine nations at the two competition venues, with the Ulinzi Sports Complex, Police Sacco Stadium, Kasarani (two pitches) and Kiambu County’s Kirigiti Stadium on the outskirts of the city designated as training venues.

A strong Caf delegation, led by Nigerian Samson Adamu, the African football body’s Director of Tournament and Events, concluded a two-day inspection visit in Kenya on Wednesday and are scheduled to visit the Uganda and Tanzania venues for final checks ahead of Wednesday’s draw.

The inspection team also included Caf’s heads of technology, ticketing, marketing, infrastructure, safety and security, TV operations, pitch-management and digital operations.

The 16 teams heading to East Africa to join hosts Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are from Morocco, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Central African Republic.

Others are from DR Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Sudan, Zambia, Angola and Madagascar, with two more nations joining after a final round of qualification.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, Caf announced a 75 percent increase in the Chan competition winner’s prize money as part of a 32 percent increase in total prize money, adding to the tournament’s glamour.

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The winner will now receive $3.5 million, with the total prize money raised to $10.4 million in the tournament referred to as “Chan 2024” for marketing purposes (it was initially scheduled for 2024) and title-sponsored by French oil major TotalEnergies.

“We are excited about the upcoming TotalEnergies Caf African Nations Championship – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania 2024… The Chan is an important competition for the development and growth of Africa-based football players and talented young players and will contribute significantly to the global competitiveness of African football and Caf competitions,” Caf President Patrice Motsepe said in a statement on Tuesday.

Motsepe led a high-level Caf team in the previous inspection rounds in November last year, also meeting with the respective heads of state in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zanzibar, accompanied by the confederation’s secretary-general Veron Mosengo-Omba.

With the two venues in Kampala and Dar pretty much on schedule, Caf has given Kenyan hosts until January 20 to tick all the right boxes.

“We are confident that by January 20, we shall have something credible to show to Caf and prove that we are ready for this major tournament,” Nicholas Musonye, Chairman of Kenya’s Chan Local Organising Committee told The EastAfrican.

“The fact that Caf gave us the opportunity to host the draw means they have the confidence that we shall pull out all the stops and organise a good tournament.” 

“From the last time we were here, Kenya has made remarkable progress. It is the right pace of work and shows the commitment by the government and determination by Kenya to host Chan,” Mr Adamu told Kenya’s LOC members after the closed-door inspection visit.

The Caf team, however, noted that the Kenyan hosts will have to work extraordinarily hard to host a successful championship, with the installation of a new roof at Kasarani alongside new sets of floodlights both and Kasarani and the Nyayo pending.

“As Africans, we always strive to produce the best and the expectations on Kenya, and on Africa, are high… we need to triple the efforts (to have venues ready) and an abnormal amount of work needs to be done,” Mr Adamu warned.

Kenya has seen three Sports Cabinet Secretaries in office last year alone, with the latest appointee Salim Mvurya only taking over from Kipchumba Murkomen just last week.

Mr Murkomen was transferred to the Interior docket last month, having served the Sports docket for only three months after taking over from Ababu Namwamba, who has since been appointed Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN Environment.

Both Mr Mvurya and Mr Murkomen maintained that the recent changes in the Sports docket will not affect Kenya’s momentum towards hosting a memorable tournament next month.

“I had a virtual meeting with my colleagues from Uganda and Tanzania, which I chaired, and we confirmed that Chan will proceed as planned, and Kenya will be ready to host the competition without any challenges,” Mr Mvurya said at a handing over ceremony at the Sports Ministry’s Talanta Plaza headquarters in Nairobi on Tuesday last week.

He urged the new Football Kenya Federation officials, led by President Hussein Mohammed and his deputy McDonald Mariga, to ensure Kenya’s national team is well-prepared for the Chan finals.

Mr Mariga is a celebrated former football star who won the Uefa Champions League in 2010 with Italy’s Inter Milan under coach Jose Mourinho.

A rich entertainment menu has been lined up for Wednesday’s Chan draw in Nairobi, with high-profile artistes and performers on the programme although the Kenyan LOC has remained closely guarded on the details.

About 400 guests are expected in Nairobi, including representatives from all 19 competing teams, officials from Caf, world football governing body Fifa, and football legends from the three Chan host nations.