Good News: Kisumu to Host AFCON Matches

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Chrispen

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Monday, October 9, 2023 –President William Ruto has used his ongoing weeklong tour in Nyanza Region to promise that the forthcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON games will also be hosted in Kisumu Town.

Addressing concerns raised by a section of governors from the Region, Ruto today assured that he will order the Ministry of Sports and Culture to factor in Western Region and, in particular, Kisumu to host the continental matches.

Days after the big announcement of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania winning the bid to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON with an estimated budget of sh 12 billion, a political storm quickly brewed in Kenya.

Kisumu Governor Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o and his Kakamega counterpart Fernandes Baraza came out to issue a joint statement expressing their concerns over the choice of hosting the matches.

“The Western region of Kenya is where football fans exist in plenitude. Not in Uashin Gishu, or Eldoret for that matter. The decision by the UDA government may be denying the Western region the opportunity to host the games because we are not shareholders in the Kenya Kwanza Company limited,” the statement read in part.

In their statement titled “Where should the AFCON matches be held in Kenya?”, the duo criticised the decision to focus on Nairobi and Eldoret alone when great footballers in the country come from their region.

They would be joined by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna who argued that Kakamega’s Bukhungu Stadium deserved the slop after it hosted a successful secondary school football competition that filled the ground to its capacity.