- LOC Chair for AFCON 2027 Nicholus Musonye is confident that Kenya is in a strong position to host both the opening and closing ceremonies.
- On Monday, Musonye and PS Elija Mwangi appeared before the National Assembly’s Select Committee on Regional Integration.
- Kenya is set to co-host AFCON 2027 alongside Uganda and Tanzania from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
Kenya Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the Africa Cup of Nations 2027, Nicholus Musonye, is confident that Kenya is in a good position to host both the opening and closing ceremonies of the tournament, which is scheduled for June and July next year.
On Monday, August 24, the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Sports, Mr. Elijah Mwangi, together with the Local Organising Committee for the Africa Cup of Nations, assured the National Assembly’s Select Committee on Regional Integration that Kenya is working towards being ready to co-host next year’s AFCON alongside Uganda and Tanzania.
Speaking before the Committee, which was also chaired by Hon. Irene Mayaka, MP, and PS Mwangi, Musonye stated that the 95%-completed Talanta Sports Stadium gives Kenya the upper hand in the upcoming continental showpiece.
“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, which is at 95% completion,” said Mr. Musonye.
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He also added that other factors giving Kenya an advantage in hosting the two prestigious events include the country’s infrastructure, as well as its strong security.
“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 an audit. We are at 80% in terms of preparations, which is the benchmark,” he added.
Under the ‘PAMOJA AFCON’ initiative, the Committee was further informed that the host nations held a high-level kick-off meeting in Kampala, Uganda.
During the meeting, they reviewed the tournament roadmap and reaffirmed that AFCON 2027 will be held from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
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The three countries are jointly working on infrastructure preparedness, hospitality, safety and security, media and broadcast readiness, as well as a common visa to ease movement across the host nations.
The Committee expressed satisfaction with the level of readiness, noting that the success of the one-month tournament would bring significant economic benefits not only to Kenya but to the entire East African region.
“We have been following your preparations closely and we just want to encourage you. To demonstrate our commitment, we will conduct tours of our stadiums in the country and possibly in Uganda and Tanzania to see what our neighbors have done. We want to ensure that everything is on track,” Hon. Mayaka said in her closing remarks.
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In addition to the marathon preparations, Kenya enters a particularly busy week. On Monday, FKF President Hussein Mohammed joined Sports CS Salim Mvurya and key stakeholders for the PAMOJA AFCON oversight Committee meeting, as Kenya continues to strengthen coordination and advance preparations for hosting the continental showpiece.
A Confederation of African Football (CAF) inspection mission will visit Kenya this week as part of the ongoing preparations.
The delegation will engage with key stakeholders and assess key venues, training facilities and supporting infrastructure.