Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya announced that the government has invited a high-level Confederation of Africa Football inspection team to assess key venues designated for the Africa Cup of Nations next year.
The government is satisfied with the current status of construction at the 60,000-seater Raila Odinga International Stadium, as well as rehabilitation efforts at Moi International Sports Center, Kasarani and Nyayo National Stadium.
To ensure compliance with CAF and FIFA standards during stadium construction and rehabilitation, the Cabinet Secretary stated that a delegation of CAF officials will be invited to Kenya next month to validate the completed works.
Mvurya was speaking at Raila Odinga International Stadium on Tuesday following a comprehensive tour of the facility to monitor construction progress. Accompanied by his Defence counterpart Soipan Tuya, the CS announced that construction works had reached 85 percent completion.
“We have decided to invite CAF in advance to review with us the progress and offer other suggestions they want while the contractor is still on the ground so that we incorporate those ideas into the construction works,” he said.
An optimistic Mvurya expressed confidence that Kenya and the East Africa region under the Pamoja Countries would host an event meeting world-class standards.
He emphasized that the government had significantly invested in establishing world-class sports infrastructure to ensure Kenya delivers a memorable tournament next year.
“We are impressed by the steady progress, with the project now at 85% completion. The contractor is working round the clock to finalise external works and the training facilities by the end of February, paving the way for subsequent auxiliary works to be undertaken seamlessly.
“We also reviewed the progress of seven other key projects, all at advanced stages of construction that are critical to the successful delivery of AFCON 2027. A whole-of-government approach has been firmly invested to ensure comprehensive preparedness, even as we advance towards preparatory engagements with CAF in the near future.”
CS Soipan Tuya expressed satisfaction with the progress of the works and assured that Kenya would protect the 2027 AFCON hosting rights by guaranteeing all sports facilities designated for this continental football tournament are delivered on time.
She described the remarkable progress of the works as evidence of the commitment to whole-Of-Government Approach in delivering legacy projects within specified timeframes.
She also mentioned that the process of formally adopting the name Raila Odinga International Stadium from Talanta Sports Complex is currently underway.