Does Kenya Have What it Takes to Host AFCON 2027?
According to the football governing body in Africa CAF, for a nation to host a big tournament as AFCON, it must have quality infrastructure in terms of stadia with the standards stipulated by Football International Federation Authority(FIFA).
For a nation to host AFCON, it must have at least six stadia approved by CAF. Two stadia with forty thousand fans sitting capacity, another two stadia that can hold a sitting capacity of twenty thousand and at least two stadia with a capacity of fifteen thousand.
With the “Pamoja” plan to submit the bid, two stadia in each country can be approved hence making the expenses less. However, the sixty-thousand seater, Benjamin Mkapa Stadium is the only stadium in the entire East Africa bloc, has met the CAF standards and has been approved.
In addition, the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium has a backup from the CCM Kirumba Stadium, Azam Complex Arena and Uhuru Stadium, making Tanzania eligible with four stadia that qualifies to host big tournaments.
Kenya’s Moi International Sports Center Kasarani and Nyayo National Stadium, which can hold a sixty-thousand capacity, does meet CAF standards to host the big tournament in the continent. In this regard, CAF dismissed Kenya from hosting international sports. In the same breath, Kenya's bid to host the 2018 African National Championship(CHAN) was also declined.
Both Mandela Stadium and Namboole Stadium in Uganda, are being renovated at the moment, while Nakivumbi Stadium cannot be relied on to host International sports due to the fact it is in poor condition and does not meet standards set by CAF.
CAF also cares about the safety of the players, its officials, fans and the general public. For a nation to win the bid to host AFCON it must be politically stable and have a high enough level of security. Cameroon and Guinea's submission bids to host AFCON in 2018 and 2025 respectively were objected to due to political instability and insecurity.
The 2027 African Cup of Nations will take place the same year Kenya will be holding the General Elections, only a few months after Uganda’s elections and two years after Tanzanians face the ballot. In this case, the three countries’ probability to host AFCON is very low.
The football governing body in the continent as well considers accommodation and road connectivity for the AFCON hosting country. CAF demands a Four-Star hotel around every approved stadium in the hosting country.
The road connectivity to and from the approved stadia to the hotels must be of high standards for travelling.
Government support is also highly considered by CAF. The government must support the tournament by action. Considering the Pamoja joint support, if a government of one of the three countries drop out the chance to host will be dismissed.
The three East African countries are facing stiff competition to host the 2027 AFCON from well-structured countries such as Egypt, Algeria and Botswana who have already submitted their bid.
The deadline for the submission of the bids is on the 23rd of May 2023, and the three countries with their plan “Pamoja”, will submit theirs tomorrow Wednesday the 17th of May this month.
Pondering the following stringent CAF regulations, the chances of the three countries to jointly host the top-ranked tournament in the continent lies in the hand of CAF to determine their eligibility and preparedness to take part in hosting AFCON 2027.
