Kenya on the verge of losing rights to host 2018 Chan
Senior officials from the Confederation of African Football (Caf) have referred to Kenya’s interest in hosting the 2018 Africa Nations Championship as a “big joke”, Nairobi News understands.
The officials from the continental body – upon returning to their base in Cairo after a week long trip to the country to assess its preparedness – are reported to be heavily considering securing a plan “B” for the prestigious football event.
AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVE
Ethiopia is being considered as a readily available alternative should Kenya fail to make the cut, in what could be a repeat of what befell the country in 1996,
During the 1996 debacle, Kenya lost the hosting rights of the Africa Cup of Nations to South Africa due to shoddy preparations.
Bafana Bafana went on to win the tournament that year.
Caf officials, including Vice President Kabele Camara and Secretary General Hicham Amrani, are said to have been incensed by Kenya’s lack of seriousness during their visit to the country last week.
Kenya’s preparedness at this stage – with 20 months to the start of the competition – is said to be the worst Caf officials have encountered, compared to the other four editions of the event held in Ivory Coast, Sudan, South Africa and Rwanda respectively.
DUMPING SITE
Mr Amrani and Mr Camara are said to have been shocked to see, for example, the compound which hosts Moi Stadium in Kisumu County doubles up as a waste dumping site. The facility was rejected outright.
The Caf duo was also disappointed to find that only a handful of people were engaged in constructing the Mombasa Municipal Stadium, with construction works said to be far from over.
The Kinoru and Machakos Stadia in Meru and Machakos Counties respectively are also said to have been rejected.
Thus only the two Stadiums in Nairobi – Kasarani and Nyayo Stadiums – were considered to be in good state although renovations are also required.
“Kenya needs four standard venues to host Chan and after our inspection it is only Kasarani that meets the requirements. The rest of the venues are not in good condition and need much work if they are to host the matches,” Mr El Amrani said.
FKF OPTIMISTIC
At the same time Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa remains optimistic that the country “will meet the deadlines” and host the event.
The Africa Nations Championships is Africa’s second largest sporting event. It consists 16 national teams, whose players specifically play in their home leagues.