Stadiums in Kenya need to be upgraded

Players of Mutindwa Football Club during their training secession at Kinoru stadium in Meru.

When the Confederation of African Football awarded Kenya the hosting rights of the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN), the news was greeted with excitement. However, with less than nine months to the kick-off, that excitement has been replaced with despair and a sense of racing against time.

The CAF inspectors are not happy about the facilities presented by the Football Kenya Federation. The preparation of the five stadiums that are proposed to host the tournament - Kipchoge Keino in Eldoret, Machakos, Kinoru in Meru, Afraha in Nakuru, and Nyayo in Nairobi - is disappointing. A lot of work still needs to be done. Those who know the state of our facilities have little faith that Kenya will be ready to host this tournament.

Having missed the opportunity to host the Africa Cup of Nations, one would have expected that the government would snap up this opportunity to bring our sports infrastructure at par with other countries. Sadly, even with the Jubilee coalition’s promises that it would build five world-class stadiums, our country is not doing well, even when compared with smaller countries.

This begs the question what our priorities are if not to improve sports facilities for the good of the youth.