Kasarani, Nyayo banned by CAF for not meeting international standards
The worst has been confirmed in regards to Kenyan football stadia after Confederation of African Football (CAF) imposed a ban on Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani for failure to meet international standards.
In essence, national senior team Harambee Stars as well as junior outfits may have to honour home matches at neutral venues outside the country as the second biggest arena in the country, Nyayo, had long been banned for failure to meet the threshold.
Nyayo was outlawed to hold international matches mainly due to lack of floodlights even as Football Kenya Federation (FKF) breached the rules by allowing Tusker to host Artar Solar of Djibouti and Egypt’s Zamalek in the preliminary and first round of the Africa Champions League respectively.
CAF has made it crystal clear that the embargo flicks on all inter-clubs competitions held under its aegis.
The unprecedented ban touches on immediate Stars’ penultimate home match against Rwanda’s Amavubi and indeed future encounters should the Kenyan Government fail to rehabilitate the two stadiums to standards that are acceptable to CAF.
In a letter written by CAF Development Director Raul Chepindo and which was copied to FKF Secretary-cum-Chief Executive Officer Barry Otieno, the Africa football governing body said the decision emanated from a report from its inspection team of the 60,000-seater Kasarani stadium.
“Reference to the inspection visit conducted by CAF at Kasarani as part of the stadia’s assessment for homolation for the Fifa World Cup 2022 qualifiers.
Based on the inspection report, we regret to inform you that the stadium did not meet the set minimum CAF Stadium requirements and consequently will not be approved for the qualifying matches,” read the letter.
It added:”Unfortunately, following the temporary approvals given by CAF for the use of the stadium in CAF competitions, the stadium still lacks several CAF criteria and requirements in order to properly host international matches.’’
