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Kenya will co-host the 2024 CHAN tournament alongside neighbours Uganda and Tanzania but past experience has some skeptical whether the country will be ready by September.
Kenya was awarded the hosting rights for the 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN) alongside neighbours Uganda and Tanzania with the tournament set to be held in September.
In what will be an audition for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations which three East African nations will co-host, the trio have just six months to be ready for the tournament which features players only playing in the African leagues.
This is the second time Kenya is getting a bite of the cherry after they were awarded the 2018 hosting rights only to see the tournament taken away due to delays in preparations.
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08:06 - 26.01.2024
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Stadia was the major problem at the time as the country did not display any seriousness in getting the facilities needed ready in time but their task has been made much easier now as each country will be required to have just one stadium for the tournament.
All indications point to Nyayo Stadium as the best possible venue to host the tournament in Kenya but the facility will need a major facelift before it is ready.
That is because Kasarani Stadium is currently closed for renovation and the government already said the facility will only be opened in December when the work is complete.
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14:00 - 17.12.2023
FOOTBALL CHAN 2024 to be co-hosted by East African countries
Tanzania Football Federation boss Wallace Karia has said that the 2024 CHAN tournament will be staged jointly by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and not one country as previously stated
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba said late last year that Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega is also another option being considered.
“We have also won the rights to host the CHAN championships which will be hosted in Nairobi and Kakamega. We have every intention to spread the benefits of international competitions across the country,” Namwamba said last November.
However, that looks unlikely given the current state of Bukhungu Stadium which will need time and resources to change its face.
That leaves Nyayo Stadium as the most viable option but the facility is currently hosting league matches, as well as religious events, and might also play host to the twin 2026 World Cup qualifiers when Harambee Stars face Burundi and Ivory Coast in June.
When CAF inspectors visited Kenya in 2021, they flagged a number of issues that needed improvement on Kasarani and Nyayo, declaring the stadiums not fit to host international matches, and the same will be required to be fixed before September.
“We need a canopy in the entire stadium so that fans are not rained on which will mean the floodlights will change as they will need to be overhead. The playing surface at Nyayo was said to be bumpy so it will need improving as well as its drainage,” a source from Sports Kenya told Pulse Sports in July last year of some of the improvements needed at Nyayo Stadium.
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10:08 - 01.02.2024
FOOTBALL Government issues update on Kasarani Stadium renovations ahead of AFCON 2027
Kasarani Stadium's renovation is on course to be completed by the end of the year after Namwamba saw encouraging signs about the progression in his latest visit on Wednesday.
It, therefore, means the government has its work cut out as it races against time in a bid to give Kenyans a taste of an international football tournament.
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