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The Nairobian

Stadia need work – CAF delegation

Sports

By Gilbert Wandera | Apr 29, 2016

There is a lot of work for Kenya to do on its infrastructure ahead of the 2018 Africa Nations Championships (CHAN).

This was the verdict of a visiting CAF delegation that finished its tour of the country on Thursday.

According to CAF Secretary General Hicham Al Amrani the country must have in place at least four stadia that can host the championships and so far he believes only two - Kasarani and Nyayo Stadium - are anywhere near the required standards.

Al Amrani, who was accompanied on the tour by CAF Vice Chairman Almamy Kabele Camara said: “During our tour of the country’s stadia, we have discovered that Kenya is lagging behind. To host such a tournament you need at least four stadia with each having four changing rooms.

“We have looked at what is available and only Nyayo Stadium and Kasarani have the minimum requirements though some work still needs to be done on them. As for other venues, they are far off and a lot of work needs to carried out to bring them up to standard.”

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The CAF team visited Kisumu, Mombasa, Machakos and Meru. The CAF official challenged the county and national governments to work quicker to ensure that the infrastructure is in place.

“We are not talking about building a 50,000-seater stadium. It can even be a 10,000-seater facility but has to have the required amenities. We do not consider CHAN to be a second rate tournament. It is just as important as all our other competitions and we therefore take it as seriously,” he said.

Al Amrani said they did not inspect the country’s hotels and other infrastructure as he pointed out that Kenya is well-endowed in those aspects.

“Kenya is well known for its world-class hotels, roads and hospitals and so we did not have a look at them at this time. This we will do in our second visit in June,” he revealed.

He further said he was happy with the assurances given by Deputy President William Ruto in regards to supporting the tournament.

“We understand that to pull off such a tournament, it cannot be done by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) alone and that is why we met the Deputy President and are happy about his enthusiasm and desire to see it done,” he revealed.

Speaking at the same function, FKF President Nick Mwendwa said a final decision on which venues will host the tournament will be made in June.

He also announced that a Local Organising Committee (LOC) will be put in place early next month.