NAIROBI, Kenya, February 11, 2026 – Confederation of Africa Football (Caf) officials are in the country to inspect Kenya’s venues for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Sports Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi says the officials are in Kenya at the invitation of the government to assess their preparedness for the continental showpiece.
“As we speak, they are at the Talanta Sports Stadium (Raila Odinga Stadium) and then in the afternoon, they will be here (Nyayo Stadium) before going on to the Kasarani Stadium. We have invited them to come and assess our preparedness for the Afcon to ensure we are on point,” Mwangi said.
Apart from the three major venues, the inspectors are also expected to visit Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu, Kipchoge Keino in Eldoret and Mombasa County Stadium at the coast.
This, Mwangi says, is a contingency plan in case the continental governing body directs that some matches be played outside Nairobi.
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“We already have the three major venues that will be hosting the event but we have also gone ahead and included Mombasa and Eldoret. This is just in case Caf wants some of the matches to be played outside Nairobi so that we will be ready and not caught offguard,” he said.
Nyayo and Kasarani are set to be shut down after the coming weekend as renovations on both begin in earnest for Afcon.
The closure is expected to affect a number of federations as well as sports disciplines that have been using the two venues.
In particular is the ongoing Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League, which is facing a scheduling headache occasioned by lack of proper pitches across the capital.
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However, Mwangi says there are a number of alternatives that teams can turn to to play their matches.
“We have the two Kasarani Annexes…that is Annex A and Annex B that they can use in the meantime. There is also the Ulinzi Sports Complex that will be available for use as well as Wote and Kitui, which are coming up nicely,” the PS said.
Mwangi further divulged that Kasarani Stadium will be fitted with a whole new turf to replace the one used for last year’s African Nations Championships (CHAN) whereas Nyayo will be adorned with a canopy.
Nyayo is set to be shut down after this weekend’s World Rugby Division 2 Tourney whereas Kasarani’s last major event was last Sunday’s Caf Confederations tie between Nairobi United and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.
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Kenya is to co-host the continental showpiece with neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania.
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