The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe is scheduled to visit Kenya this Friday as part of a two-day tour across East Africa to assess the readiness of host nations for the 2025 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN). The tournament is set to take place from February 1 to 28, 2025.
Dr. Motsepe will begin his inspection in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Thursday before arriving in Nairobi on Friday morning. His final stop will be Kampala, Uganda, where he will conclude his tour.
“During his visit, Dr. Motsepe will meet government officials, football leadership, and Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) from the three host nations. The itinerary includes inspections of stadiums and training facilities currently under renovation in preparation for next year’s tournament,” a CAF statement revealed.
This visit follows a second inspection tour conducted by a CAF delegation in November, during which they assessed stadiums, training sites, hotels, airports, and other facilities in the three countries.
Kenya faces a race against time to ensure the readiness of its key venues, the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani and Nyayo National Stadium, by December 31. Initially, the Ministry of Sports had committed to completing renovations at Kasarani by the end of November, but the deadline was missed.
Earlier this month, Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen unveiled the 31-member Local Organizing Committee (LOC), led by former CECAFA Secretary General Nicholas Musonye. The committee is tasked with overseeing the ongoing renovations and ensuring compliance with CAF’s deadlines.
“To the LOC, you are under immense pressure, as the country is relying on you. We expect you to work as a team,” Murkomen emphasized during the unveiling. He assured Kenyans that the nation would meet CAF’s requirements and retain its hosting rights.
“With the deadlines that CAF has issued, I assure Kenyans that we will be ready to host the CHAN 2025 and the AFCON 2027,” he added confidently.
This marks the first time CHAN will be jointly hosted by three nations. The tournament, which exclusively features players active in their domestic leagues, is seen as a critical rehearsal for Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The historic collaboration underscores the growing significance of East Africa in continental football. CHAN 2025 is expected to serve as a benchmark for the trio as they prepare to make history by becoming the first three-way hosts of AFCON in 2027.
