Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Hussein Mohammed and Chan2024/Afcon2027 Local Organising Committee chairman Nicholas Musonye have questioned Nyayo Stadium’s capacity to host international matches.
The two spoke Tuesday in reaction to Sunday’s safety and security breaches as Harambee Stars hosted Gabon in a 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier.
Ticket-less fans overpowered security personnel to gain access to the stadium. “Is Nyayo Stadium a facility that can host another Harambee Stars’ game? Do we feel we need to move to Kasarani?” “These are some of the conversations we need to have amongst ourselves,” Hussein said.
“Which venue (do we use) now that the enthusiasm for Kenyan football is back? “Is it feasible to host another game of that magnitude at Nyayo? Can we move to Kasarani for national team engagements?”
He wondered whether Nyayo could stage Harambee Stars’ Chan2024 opener against Morocco.
“Fans invading the pitch at the final whistle was not a very good thing to happen,” Musonye added.
“We are concerned about it. We have had a meeting with the members of the LOC to discuss security in detail... about what happened before and after the match.”
“We saw the video of a Kenyan man dancing with a Gabonese guy (player) on the pitch. It was wrong! Fans must end the bad manners of forcing their way into the stadium.”
He gave Kasarani a thumbs-up for future national team engagements. “Kasarani is ready than Nyayo. Kasarani has floodlights, the pitch is excellent, the dressing rooms are excellent,” he said.
“But we want to finish it so that there will be no issues even if Harambee Stars are going to play there. The president’s (Hussein) concerns are our concerns.”
“We don’t want to risk lives here. Nyayo is growing smaller since the numbers were reduced from 35,000 to 22,000.”
Meanwhile, Hussein expects a favourable match commissioner’s report, arguing that Sunday’s match was Kenya’s first at home in over four years, which spiked the enthusiasm to unimaginable levels.
“We acknowledge that Sunday’s match came with challenges, particularly regarding access due to the overwhelming turnout. While we are grateful for the massive support, it is clear that we must improve the match-day experience,” he said.
“We are working on solutions. We will get it right, but we seek support from all Kenyans in ensuring we do not get into trouble with football governing bodies—Fifa and Caf.”
He feels civic education will be key. “We know our fans love football and we need them in our stadiums,” he said.
“But it is time we adhered to certain safety and security protocols.”
He appealed: “If you want to see Kenya flourish and prosper, please adhere to the security protocols to keep fans, families, and players safe. Come to the stadium only when you have a ticket.”
Meanwhile, the match fetched Sh6.9m from the about 17,000 tickets sold.
