Dear Mr President ,
Kenya is bleeding!This is not the usual bleeding but the blood is being lost with the news that we may not host the 2018 African Nations Soccer Championships in our home soil.
The tragedy that happened in Kenya in 1996 should not take centre stage this time again
Kenya was awarded the hosting rights of Africa’s premier soccer event ,the African Cup of Nations in 1996.
We all know what happened with the rights shifted last minute to South Africa who were just new members of CAF after attaining Independence.South Africa went on to win the tournament beating Egypt with Kenya facing a three year ban from CAF and FIFA
The intrigues behind the last minute failure by the then government led by Daniel arap Moi was purely politics and the governments lack of interest in soccer .
Soccer in Kenya has been neglected but with the introduction of Supersport and later sportpesa,the level of soccer in Kenya raised with players like Victor Wanyama (Southampton)joining the top leagues in the world
Mr President its time you crack the whip in the Sports docket ,get contractors work day and night just like you did with the SGR .The Chinese are known to build the most beautiful stadiums in the region ,a point in case -the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka,National Stadium In Dar etc
Four stadiums are not complete and needs serious renovations work.Kinoru Stadium in Meru is almost complete ,Kipchoge Keino can’t host the tournament with the slow pace of the contractors ,Machakos Stadium will need serious works both day and night and Nyayo needs thorough finishing .
We ask you to avail the funds as soon as possible ,forget about the supreme court ruling just for a day and invite the Local Organizing committee to table and ensure we don’t miss out like in 1996.
We rarely qualify for such tournaments .we haven’t qualified for this tournament since its inception and this is the only opportunity
We ask you to leave a legacy in soccer in Kenya by ensuring the country host the 16 football nations .
CAF are coming to the country early next month and this time they will not entertain the usual “we are ready ” they will inspect the stadiums and give a report with South Africa and Morocco waiting for this golden opportunity
Football is a uniting factor and this is the time you should ensure you bring the 40 million Kenyans together when the showpiece begins in January 2018.
The back lies with you and not even the Sports ministry .The Football Kenya Federation may show willingness but lack the requisite financial strength to confirm whether they are ready
Mr President we want to sew our boys shine in the entire Africa as more than 1Billion viewers across the world will be having their eyes glued in the TVs watching this tournament
Our tiny East Africa neighbours Rwanda hosted the 2016 edition and again Ethiopia our equal brothers and neighbours are ready for the 2020 edition .
How comes Ethiopia who will host the 2020 edition have built four news international stadium yet Kenya ,a country that is known to exploit sports are preparing not only to ashame her citizens but also Africa and the world .
Your Excellency we expect you to act as as early as yesterday to save us from this shock .
Thank you
Austin Oduor
Football Anaylst
