Kenya has publicly staked its claim to host both the opening match and final of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, raising the stakes in the competition among the three PAMOJA co-hosts for the tournament’s two most prestigious fixtures.
The country’s Local Organising Committee told the National Assembly’s Select Committee on Regional Integration that the new 60,000-seater Raila Odinga International Stadium has reached 95 per cent completion, while Kenya’s overall preparations are estimated at 80 per cent.
LOC chairman Nicholas Musonye believes the new Nairobi facility, together with the country’s supporting infrastructure, gives it a strong case when the Confederation of African Football eventually decides where the tournament will start and end.
“We stand a good chance to host both the opening and closing ceremonies; this is because of the new facility, The Talanta, Raila Odinga Stadium that is at 95% completion,” Musonye told MPs.
He added: “Above this, we also have good security and the best hotels in the region; we are confident that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will give us a good ranking as they come for audit. We are at 80% in terms of preparations, which is the benchmark.”
Sports Principal Secretary Elija Mwangi appeared before the committee alongside Musonye and other officials to update MPs on Kenya’s preparations to co-host the tournament with Uganda and Tanzania.
CAF has already confirmed that the opening match will be played on June 19, 2027, with the final scheduled for July 17, but it has deliberately left the location of both fixtures open.
“The Country that will host the Opening Match and the Final” will be announced later, CAF said when confirming the tournament calendar in May.
As recently as June, the continental body said it was still consulting the three governments and LOCs over the hosts of the final draw, opening match and final.
The opening match and final are the two most visible fixtures of any AFCON, carrying enormous commercial, tourism and branding value for the host city. They also normally demand the largest and most operationally advanced stadiums available.
The Raila Odinga International Stadium, formerly known as Talanta Sports City, was designed with a capacity of about 60,000.
Kenya’s Sports Ministry reported it at 91 per cent completion in late June, with structural works largely finished and attention turning to ICT, broadcasting systems, spectator amenities, landscaping and the hybrid pitch.
The latest 95 per cent figure suggests progress has continued as CAF prepares further audits of facilities across the region.
Uganda will inevitably be watching closely; the government expects Mandela National Stadium, Namboole, to be one of its primary competition venues and is undertaking a second phase of works that should increase seating capacity from 38,268 to 45,000.
Those works form part of a much wider Shs905 billion government programme for AFCON 2027 covering stadiums, roads, rail, airports, hotels, hospitals, security and tournament operations.
Sports minister Peter Ogwang told Parliament that Shs56.2 billion had been allocated for further remodelling and upgrading of Namboole, while Shs213 billion was earmarked for selected roads serving Namboole and Hoima City Stadium.
Another Shs23.33 billion was allocated to improve the Kampala-Mukono railway corridor, including a proposed Namboole halt intended to ease movement of supporters on match days.
Uganda also has the newly constructed Hoima City Stadium, although government has acknowledged that remedial work has been necessary to address observations made by CAF inspectors.
Whether Namboole can challenge Kenya’s larger new stadium for the final will depend not only on capacity, but also on how quickly surrounding transport, media, hospitality and security infrastructure is brought up to the required level.
CAF has also made clear in the past that stadiums alone will not determine readiness. This was at the PAMOJA ministerial meeting in Kampala in April, where the governing body stressed “coordination in planning, timely execution, disciplined delivery, and a unified regional approach” across the three countries.
Kenya is already selling those wider strengths as part of its case, apart from the stadium, Musonye specifically highlighted security and hotel capacity, two elements that will form part of CAF’s operational assessment before marquee matches are allocated.
Parliamentary committee chairperson Irene Mayaka said Kenyan MPs intend to inspect facilities at home and could also visit Uganda and Tanzania to compare preparations.
“We have been following your preparations closely, and we just want to encourage you,” Mayaka said.
“We will conduct tours of our stadiums in the country and possibly in Uganda and Tanzania to see what our neighbours have done. We want to ensure that everything is on track.”
PAMOJA 2027 will be the first AFCON jointly hosted by three countries and the first finals staged in East Africa since Ethiopia hosted the competition in 1976. CAF expects more than 1.5 million supporters to attend across the three hosts.
