Which countries can Gor Mahia and Kenya Police turn to after Nyayo Stadium failed CAF inspection?

Photo credit || Kenya Police

Which countries can Gor Mahia and Kenya Police turn to after Nyayo Stadium failed CAF inspection?

Joel Omotto 17:29 - 13.07.2024

Gor Mahia and Kenya Police will have to seek refuge in neighbouring countries after CAF failed to approve Nyayo Stadium for use during upcoming inter-club competitions.

Kenya Police and Gor Mahia will have to look for venues far from home to host their CAF Confederation Cup and Champions League respectively next month.

Police and Gor Mahia were dealt a blow after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) failed to approve Nyayo Stadium following an inspection on Friday, meaning the country does not have a stadium capable of hosting international matches.

In the region, Tanzania had two venues approved, the Benjamin Mkapa and Azam Sports Complex, both in Dar es Salaam, Uganda have the newly-renovated Mandela National Stadium (Namboole) and St Mary’s Kitende, while the newly-completed Amahoro Stadium plus the Kigali Pele Stadium are the approved venues in Rwanda.

Of the two Kenyan teams, Police are the most affected as Rwanda is the only closer country where they can host Ethiopian Coffee in their first preliminary round of the Confederation Cup on August 16.

Police will be the home team but with Uganda’s representatives Kitara and Sports Villa also playing at home on the same day, it means Namboole and St Mary’s will be out of bounds while in Tanzania, Azam will also be home on the same day, when they will use their own venue.

Meanwhile, Zanzibar’s Uhamiaji and JKU are also at home on the same day and one of them will likely use the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

Police will therefore have to seek refuge at Amahoro Stadium or Kigali Pele Stadium in Rwanda if they want to play within East Africa.

Gor Mahia have more options, however, but they will not be able to play in Tanzania when they host El Merreikh FC Bentiu of South Sudan in the return leg on August 23.

This is because Yanga and Coastal Union will be home for the second leg on the same day while in Rwanda, APR will host Azam.

That leaves Gor Mahia with one venue in Rwanda and the two in Uganda to choose from if they intend to host their home match in the region given the high cost of travelling away from East Africa.