What hosting Afcon matches will mean for Kenya in 2027

Afcon has its history,it's significance, evolution of the tournament among others.The tournament started in the year 1957 where it was held in Sudan. It started with three teams which where featured competing in a round-robin format.These teams where Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.Since 1957,it started evolving in size after every four years  teams having competition to prepare for the qualifications to take part in the next tournament.

Afcon has played a vital role not only to the participants but to the entire continent.It gives a platform to our African footballers to showcase their talents to the world attracting scouts of European clubs who come to search for new talents.

Success to our players can be a springboard to lucrative careers in Europe top leagues like the English Premier

 League, La Liga , Serie A, Bundesliga among others .The tournament fosters a sense of national pride and unity bringing together different communities to support their teams.It also promotes economic activities to the business people in the host country.

In the year 1996,it was one of the most iconic moments in Afcon history.Kenya was to play host role but it was hosted by South Africa who hosted it for the first time after Kenya had failed to host the tournament because we failed to meet CAF requirements.As we all know Afcon it has its own challenges starting with organized infrastructure being one of the  major challenges hindering the tournament.

It is after over 28 years after losing the chance to South Africa  Kenyans can finally smile again being the hosts of the 2027 Afcon together with their neighbors Uganda and Tanzania in the Pamoja bid which they won last year campaign of who could play the role of hosting the big tournament.The big question is will we be able to meet CAF requirements before the deadline?

Its in 2017 after twenty eight years ago, Kenyans finally knew the reason why the country failed to host the 1996 African Cup of Nations.According to Confederation of African football President issa Hayaton, Kenya would not host the biennial continental showpiece because it lacked the infrastructure which is required .Subsequently Kenya was banned for the next two Afcon tournaments and that's how the South Africa was awarded the chance and it helped them to win their first continental title as they emerged from apartheid.During that time the late President of South Africa Nelson Mandela inspired the tournament.

Later it was reported that due to economic constraints ,Kenya had no money to renovate and was reluctant to construct the new stadia which were needed in Nairobi and Mombasa so as to host the tournament.

Now it's different. All the stadiums which are required to be renovated are all in Nairobi County that is Nyayo National Stadium, Moi Sports Complex Kasarani,Kipchonge Keino Stadium and in addition,also the government launched a new stadium known as Talanta Sports Complex with capacity of 60,000 which should be completed by December 2025 as per the plans of Kenya Kwanza government. This stadium is said to be the home for the finals of the tournament.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) Also has demanded that the stadiums in the three countries should meet their standards for them to be able to host the showpiece.The question we should be asking ourselves is how is the current government dealing with the same issue we faced twenty eight years ago of renovating the stadiums we have and will they be complete before the deadline during this tough economic challenges we are facing as a country?But we can have hopes in our government we have been seeing Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba investing massively in sports.

With the help of Kenya Kwanza government,  they have been supporting talents through financial support to our national teams ,and players to go and represent our country and through this we are eyeing to see how the renovation process takes place. Hosting the tournament will also enable us to boost our economy because we will be expecting large numbers of fans of the participating countries .Also it's an added advantage to our national team Harambee Stars because they will have the courage to play home games with the full support of our fans.