With 67 days left, will Kenya be ready to host CHAN 2024?

Will Kenya be ready in time to host the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) this year?

This is the viral question in recent weeks across the football fraternity, as more doubts arise on the readiness of the country to handle an event of such calibre.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania were awarded the rights to host CHAN in December 2023, as somewhat a dress rehearsal for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament, which will also be co-hosted by the three East African countries.

CHAN was originally set to take place in February, with some countries having already declared their squads and started training in camps.

Due to the failure of football infrastructure and facilities to reach desired levels, CAF technical and infrastructure experts advised that more time be given to ensure the facilities were in good shape to handle the 19-team-tournament.

The delay came weeks after CAF President Patrice Motsepe had travelled to Kenya to assess the state of stadia himself, and even met up with President William Ruto to speed up the process.

On Friday last week, a delegation from CAF, led by Mr. Pierre Alain Mounguengui, CAF's 3rd Vice President and President of the CHAN Organising Committee was in the country for a three-day inspection tour.

Accompanied by Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, the Creative Economy, and Sports Salim Mvurya, Mounguengui commended the progress made, urging all stakeholders to hasten final preparations at the stadiums and facilities to meet the planned tournament timeline. The inspection was part of CAF's standard protocol to ensure venues, accommodation, security, transportation and operational met the desired criteria.

Mvurya then stressed the nation's determination to meet all CAF recommendations, promising that Kenya was fully committed to fine-tuning preparations to ensure the tournament is a world-class success.

However, doubts have started to creep in, following reports that the CAF assessors flagged the state of the playing surfaces at Nyayo National Stadium and Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani as substandard. Just months to kickoff, the officials are said to have noted that the pitches do not meet the minimum standards for hosting such a continental competition.

Mvurya dismisses speculation

Mvurya, in a statement released on May 26, quashed speculation suggesting that Kenya was not ready to host CHAN. He said ongoing inspection tour by CAF officials was part of standard protocol to gauge venue readiness, accommodation, infrastructure, security and coordination.

"We have invested heavily in infrastructure upgrades, including at Kasarani and Nyayo and have already paid the hosting fee amounting to KES 1.6 billion. The ongoing assessments by CAF are routine and essential to ensure all host nations are in alignment with tournament standards," he explained.

With only 66 days remaining to kickoff (August 2), only time will tell whether CS Mvurya's assessment will come to fruition, as the country scrambles to get its house, and it's two iconic stadiums in order.