President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that nine refurbished stadia will be reopened countrywide in December 2020.
The nine stadia are in Kisumu, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Meru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Marsabit, Chuka and Makueni.
"Our endeavour is to ensure that our sporting facilities can compete with the best in the world. Construction of these stadia is fully funded and we expect them to be ready for commissioning by December," President Kenyatta said.
The President also announced that the national government is discussing with the county governments of Kisii, Kakamega, Narok and Mombasa on how to upgrade their stadia to international standards.
"Discussions are ongoing on how to co-finance their respective stadia. Also, hopefully, our KDF will have their own modern stadia next year in Lang'ata Barracks," he said.
President Kenyatta was speaking on Saturday afternoon while reopening the new-look Nyayo Stadium that had been closed for three years for renovations.
He described the refurbished 30,000-seater stadium as a new chapter in Kenya's sporting history and an opportunity for the country to rubber stamp its status as a sporting powerhouse.
"The improvement of Nyayo Stadium makes it more suitable for our sporting heroes to showcase their sporting excellence," President Kenyatta said.
Sports CS Amina Mohammed said the stadium has already earned a thumbs up from international administrators.
"Several international bodies have sent their representatives to vet the stadium and rated it among the best on the continent. So far, football and athletics administrators have expressed their satisfaction with the current state of the stadium," Amina said.
The reopening of the stadium comes a week before the country hosts the World Athletics Continental Tour on October 3.
Dubbed the Kip Keino Classic — in honour of track legend Kipchoge Keino — will be the first major sporting event in Kenya since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March.
The new-look stadium has been fitted with CCTV cameras to curb hooliganism and theft that had afflicted the facility in the past.
The tartan track has been refurbished as is the football pitch that has a new, green lease of life.
The seats — emblazoned in the Kenyan colours of green, black and red — each have a number to ensure that fans can only sit on those that correspond to their ticket numbers.
Apart from additional changing rooms, an anti-doping room has been installed to ensure privacy during sample collection.
Nonetheless, much works remains to be done on the basketball court, swimming pool, volleyball and handball courts.
CS Amina and Sports Kenya CEO Pius Metto promised that they will work hard to complete the remaining works.