Kenya should not allow chance to host tournament slip away

Kenya has been offered a rare chance to host the 2018 African Nations Championship, also known as Chan 2018.

This will be the fifth edition of the biennial football tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) exclusively featuring players from the respective national championships. The tournament is scheduled to take place between January 11 and February 2.

However, with time quickly ticking away, nothing much is being done in terms of preparations. It is sad that with only six months to the tournament, none of the five stadiums identified to stage the showpiece is ready and there seems to be no clear plan of how they will be reconditioned. This is despite early communication that the grounds should be renovated to meet the required standards.

Chan is a major tournament and Kenya should feel privileged to host it for the first time in its history.

It will be a big disappointment for local football lovers and a shame for Kenya and football managers if CAF is forced to hand the hosting rights to another country just because Kenya could not get the facilities ready on time. The Government and the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) must take this matter seriously and act urgently to ensure that the country is not denied the chance to stage this tournament.

It is mind-boggling that the stadiums are not ready yet the notice was given two years ago. How does one explain why the country is not ready for the tournament? Or are we so preoccupied with the General Election that nothing else seems to matter? Stakeholders would like to know what FKF and the Ministry of Sports have done to get the country ready for the event.