OPINION: We had no stadiums to host CHAN not talk of political instability

Kasarani in Nairobi was just but one that could have staged the event.  Kipchoge Keino (Eldoret), Kinoru (Meru) and Kenyatta Stadium (Machakos) were never going to be ready, half-hearted efforts to build them coming ridiculously late; literally just days before kickoff.

Jot down today’s date; then, even if  at a decent construction pace work continued non-stop, you will mark time for the whole of 2018 before you see Kip Keino up and beaming as the modern edifice it is supposed to become … if the artistic impression on the tables is anything to go by. The colonial era stadium is not getting a mere patch-up job; it’s a total, and huge, construction work!

The grounds on which Confederation of African Football (CAF) stripped Kenya of the rights to host its biggest-ever football tournament are probably well spelt out in a CAF communiqué that both the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) the Ministry of Sport and its agent, Sports Kenya, are hiding for whatever reason.

Shame, embarrassment and being depicted as totally inept being some of them.

For explanation, try some spin, lies or outright hogwash; including that current political climate isn’t good for football. No. Football is unique. Kenya would have to be the only place in the world where something as serious as the game of football is postponed over mundane issues about vote counting campaign noise!

Syria is one match away from qualifying for the 2018 Fifa World Cup.

They will be in Russia if they can beat Australia in the upcoming Asia/Oceania play-off. Faced with threats of gun attacks, remotely detonated bombs and even drones carrying explosives and chemical weapons, France still defied advice to cancel the 2016 Euro Cup after  the country had been rocked by murderous terrorism. The Euro still took place. It was closely preceded and followed by a grim terror attack death toll of 234 meted by maniac mostly related “Isis”

Hours before the start of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Angola, the Togolese national team bus was attacked in the troubled province of Cabinda; a player was killed and others injured but CAF did not cancel the tournament.

Before this year's Afcon finals in Gabon, a series of protests broke out after the announcement of incumbent President Ali Bongo as winner of the August 27 general election.

Somalia still has dangerous incidents; its capital Mogadishu is still a most difficult place to live in. But some of its surprising stories of hope, peace and normalcy are around football. Ahmad, the new President of CAF after ousting then long serving Issa Hayatou, made Somalia one of his earliest visits. Even Fifa is a key supporter of Somalia football, and has sent technical personnel to lay on astro-turf pitches in Mogadishu and others to teach Somalis soccer administration and refereeing.

It does not appear that the Government of Kenya declared its irrevocable support for the candidature of FKF being awarded the 2018 CHAN bid. That’s the bid that Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario and FKF boss then, Sam Nyamweya, proudly announced that the country had clinched way back in 2014.

The truth is, people in football knew nothing was being done about CHAN. At some point and very close to Nairobi losing the hosting rights for the IAAF WU18 event, someone had to roll up his sleeves, buckle up and on literally a daily basis, navigate through the maze of roads of government red tape.

For days and months FKF honchos talked about non-existent plans about CHAN. They knew that the Ministry of Sport and Sports Kenya were paying mere lip service saying:

At one point, the IAAF put its foot down and in definite terms said they needed to see commitment that Nairobi would host the IAAF WU18 Championships.

Time was running out and almost in panic, Kenya found itself with just about five months to go before they had prepared the competition venue and Athletes Village at Kenyatta University.

What happened at the WU18 Championships should have been replicated at CHAN and on almost similar timelines. It should have been a full-time job also for the CHAN LOC.

And complete with all the muscle that took the successful hosting of the WU18, the CHAN tournament was never going to happen if it did have what it took to host the IAAF event which included President Uhuru Kenyatta intervening in WU18 Championships hosting. And already, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta had taken up the request to be patron of the LOC.

And you have to wonder; CHAN hosting was a more arduous task and did football and Ministry of Sport honchos think the odd, once-in-a-while press conference that: “plans are on track and we should be ready when CAF inspectors...” would deliver the magic.

These stadiums will be a nightmare: Some that were standing and usable, albeit for local use are “grounded”; e.g. Nyayo whose need to expand changing, VIP, offices and other technical rooms has necessitated some complex development which would definitely, even at maximum speed, not have been ready by January.

You need to visit all these places, see for yourself, talk to contractors, and hear their grievances and limitations before accepting the weekly bulletins of FKF and the Ministry.

The elephant in the room, for example, that despite all the amounts that contractors are said to have received  many of them have barely enough to break the ground and show just mounds of earth to show for it. A spectacular case is that of Kamariny Stadium, Iten (Elgeyo Marakwet) where the hitherto supremely busy athletics talent breeding ground is now no longer in use.

Having been dug up as if in fury, builders are no longer on site and banished athletes with nowhere else to go wish for the time they used it “as is”.