CAF orders urgent safety upgrades for Kenyan AFCON 2027 venues

CAF’s venue inspection programme for the 2027 finals in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania has moved into a compliance phase, with upgrades required at key match and training sites to meet competition standards.CAF began a new round of visits to the three co-hosts this month, with the Kenya programme including Kasarani Stadium, Nyayo Stadium and Talanta Sports City Stadium, plus training venues such as Ulinzi Sports Complex and the Kenya Academy of Sports.The focus of the inspections has been stadium readiness, particularly safety and security systems that affect crowd management and match operations, including access control, CCTV coverage, emergency procedures and the readiness of player and official areas.The knock-on impact is already being felt domestically, with Football Kenya Federation president Hussein Mohammed warning that venue closures and improvement works will disrupt league fixtures and training schedules while venues are made compliant.Mohammed said: “As a result of the ongoing inspections, upgrades and works required to meet CAF standards, several of these facilities will remain temporarily unavailable for domestic league matches and training.“This will inevitably disrupt league fixtures, competitions and training programmes, including the need for venue changes and schedule adjustments.”Sports Kenya has also confirmed closures tied to renovation phases at major venues, with correspondence circulated to sports bodies as the works programme is accelerated.CAF has framed the process as a standard part of tournament delivery, with the three co-hosts expected to demonstrate progress on the required upgrades in the months ahead as planning shifts from inspection to execution.