With 66 days left, will Kenya really be ready to host CHAN 2024?

Kenyan football fans should not be worried by the prospect of the country losing hosting rights of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024.

These were the sentiments expressed by Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports Salim Mvurya and Confederation of African Football (CAF) Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, who yesterday toured various stadia around the country, assessing progress made ahead of the 19-team tournament.

Kenya, along with Uganda and Tanzania were awarded the rights to host CHAN in December 2023, a prelude for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament in 2027, which will also be co-hosted by the three East African countries.

Even though Mvurya, Mosengo-Omba and other officials put on brave faces while expressing confidence at Talanta Plaza, they were at pain to convince the media of Kenya's readiness.

Following a three-day tour by CAF officials last week, speculation has been rife that the country, facility-wise, was not quite prepared to host the tournament. This after a delegation from CAF, led by CAF's third vice president and president of the CHAN Organising Committee, Pierre Alain Mounguengui, conducted inspections on Moi Sports Centre Kasarani and Nyayo Stadium.

Reports arose from social media that CAF assessors had flagged the state of the playing surfaces as substandard, raising alarm bells on whether renovations have really been taking place. Just months to kick off, the officials are said to have noted that the pitches do not meet the minimum standards for hosting such a continental competition.

However, Mvurya moved swiftly to quash these reports, stressing that the nation was determined to meet all CAF requirements and promised that the country was fully committed to fine-tuning preparations for world-class success.

Mvurya reaffirmed this statement yesterday, confirming that contractors had already been paid and that the hosting fee had already been disbursed to CAF. "We have paid Sh400 million to the contractor. We shall be fixing the gaps that have been identified so we can be able to host the tournament seamlessly," he said.

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

Due to the failure of football infrastructure and facilities to reach desired levels, CAF technical and infrastructure experts advised that more time be allowed to ensure the facilities were in good shape.

Mvurya dismissed any chance of the rights being lost due to Kenya's commitment.

"We remain committed to ensuring that we host CHAN. We have made the commitment, both financially and on human resources, to ensure Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are able to host," he explained.

Mosengo-Omba, who was in the company of CAF president Patric Motsepe when they visited the country in December last year, commended the progress made but urged the government to accelerate final preparations at the stadiums and facilities to meet the planned tournament timelines.

"I was here in December, and you can see the difference. Some of the training pitches had no grass, but now the grass there - you can play golf there. My delegation and I have noticed huge progress. There are small things to be fixed, because this will be a prelude for the Afcon," he said.

"What we have seen here today is really encouraging. We have to do doing everything possible to deliver a successful competition with president Motsepe, government, CAF and federations," he added.

Kenya plans to have test matches in late June before the tournament begins on August 2.

FKF president Hussein Mohammed, also present at the meeting, said the federation already had plans for the national team in case the country was not able to host the 2025 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup. With only 66 days to kick off only time will tell whether Mvurya's assessment will come to fruition, as the country scrambles to get its house and its two iconic stadiums in order.

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