Kenya to hand over CHAN venues by 25th June, Gov't says

Kenya will hand over to CAF the venues that will host the African Nations Championships CHAN competition to be held in the country in August, Cabinet Secretary for Sports Salim Mvurya says.

The country will use the Kasarani and Nyayo Stadiums to host their leg of CHAN matches and in recent times, there has been trepidation over the state of the facilities, which punters believe are not in good shape ahead of the Championships.

Mvurya, though, is more than certain that the stadia will be ready for the August 2, 2025 kick-off date.

He also affirmed that the Police Stadium in South C, Nairobi, which will host training matches for teams participating in the tournament, will also be handed over on the 25th of June, as per his announcement.

Speaking during a tour of the facilities on Tuesday, accompanied by the National Assembly’s Sports and Culture Committee, Mvurya confirmed that all contractors had committed to handing over the venues by Wednesday, 25 June.

"We agreed with all contractors that they will hand over the keys on June 25. Everyone is working towards that deadline," said the CS.

"We have visited Kasarani and Nyayo and we can confirm that we are nearly there. At the moment, we are finishing up the facilities; piping, lighting, scoreboards and other last-minute additions, but we are 90% done," he added.

CAF leadership, led by Secretary General Veron Mosengo Omba, expressed satisfaction with the movement made by the government and said that they were looking forward to the completion of works.

"There has been tremendous progress made, he said. Uganda we can play yesterday, Tanzania tomorrow, Kenya tomorrow, he said. The work must continue; otherwise, we don't want CHAN here," he said during the visit.

Following months of speculation on whether Kenya will be ready to host CHAN, it all boils down to a date.

Wednesday, June 25th, it is. The world awaits.