4 Reasons Joint Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania AFCON Bid Will Fail- Ex-CECAFA Boss

Kenya alongside Uganda and Tanzania jointly bid for the rights to host the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2027 on Monday, May 15.

Speaking during the unveiling of the 'Pamoja' bid at State House, Nairobi, President William Ruto said that the bid was a way of his government showing goodwill towards the development of sports in the country.

“We are focussed on harnessing the full potential of each sector for our prosperity.” said the president.

“This sector is a giant wellspring of opportunities. We will ensure we place Kenya on its rightful position as a sporting superpower,” he added.

President William Ruto, CS Ababu Namwamba, PS Jonathan Mueke and Nick Mwendwa at State House during the unveiling of the East African Community 'Pamoja' bid to host AFCON 2027 on May 15, 2023. /STATE HOUSE KENYA

It is an event that took place in the full glare of cameras and was graced by prominent people in the sports industry including cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba FKF President Nick Mwendwa, and Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke.

However, former CECAFA Secretary General and CAF member of the National Associations Committee Nicholas Musonye believes that the decision is farfetched and is unlikely to see the light of day.

“The idea is unrealistic owing to the lack of infrastructure in the three nations, Uganda and Kenya have no stadiums, while Tanzania has only one meeting the mandatory International standards,” Musonye said.

He further argued that the three nations do not have the required facilities in place to sustain a continental football tournament of huge magnitude and if any improvements would be made, they would not meet the required deadlines if the bid does turn out to be a success.

Musonye further listed past instances where the nations have been handed rights to host African tournaments which failed.

“We don’t have facilities and the ones we have, we can’t improve them in three years. It will take at least 10 years to put everything in place.

"We have been given the right to host continental tournaments twice and both times we failed,” added the former football administrator.

Musonye served as a CAF member of the National Associations Committee for over a decade and is a veteran in football management.

Accordingly, Kenya and Uganda lack CAF-accredited stadiums that can host matches organized by the organization.

Uganda has been playing their home matches in Morrocco with their latest home AFCON qualifier being played at Suez Canal Stadium in the North African nation.

The return leg was hosted at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, which is the only stadium in Tanzania that can host a CAF-organized match.

CAF has scheduled inspection visits between June 1 and July 5.

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Then CECAFA secretary general Nicholas Musonye addresses the media on July 20, 2019, in Kigali, Rwanda. /NAIROBI NEWS