Moment of truth for Kenya as eight-man Caf inspection team arrives
What you need to know:
- An eight-person delegation from the Confederation of African Football (Caf) is expected in Kenya on Monday for the third and final inspection of the five stadiums earmarked to host the African Nations Championship (Chan) in January next year.
- The clearance visit begins on Tuesday and ends with a press conference on Saturday, and it will once again be led by Caf’s second vice-president Omari Selemani who was in the country last week to assess the country’s political and security situation following the September 1 Supreme Court decision that nullified the presidential elections.
An eight-person delegation from the Confederation of African Football (Caf) is expected in Kenya on Monday for the third and final inspection of the five stadiums earmarked to host the African Nations Championship (Chan) in January next year.
The clearance visit begins on Tuesday and ends with a press conference on Saturday, and it will once again be led by Caf’s second vice-president Omari Selemani who was in the country last week to assess the country’s political and security situation following the September 1 Supreme Court decision that nullified the presidential elections.
Selemani, who is also a member of the Fifa Council, endorsed the political situation and issued a green light to Caf advising them to proceed with the inspection tour which had been shelved indefinitely for fear of the inspectors’ personal safety.
The Democratic Republic of Congo Football Association President will be accompanied by Caf’s tournaments director Mohammed El Shawarby, IT director Tarek El Deeb, competitions deputy director Khaled Nassar, service deputy director Abdel Razek, media manager Mohammed Thabet, and marketing and TV assistant Amira Amin.
The eight-day clearance tour will be Kenya’s moment of reckoning, as the inspectors are expected to issue a verdict about whether the Chan hosting rights will remain in Kenya or not.
Construction work in each of the five stadia began two weeks ago, and the Chan local organising committee will have a difficult time retaining the faith of the African football chiefs with regards to hosting the 16-nations competition.
Apart from the slow pace of construction work, the order for fresh presidential elections has included more difficulties to the country’s prospects, as the country’s top brass is now heavily immersed in politics.
Football Kenya Federation chief executive officer Robert Muthomi, however, said measures have been put in place to ensure construction work within the stadia continues without interference.
“We don’t foresee any challenges because the work has already began and the stadiums are now with the contractors. No activities will be allowed inside the venues so the timelines we are working with remain the same,” he said.
Should Caf find Kenya incapable of hosting the 12-team tournament, the country will automatically be disqualified from the competition, and this could be followed by a lengthy ban and/or a hefty fine.
Already, the qualification process of the tournament has been completed, with 14 nations having qualified so far.
Congo, Libya, Morocco, Cameroon, Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Namibia have all qualified for the tournament that is scheduled to take place from January 11 to February 2.
