Kenya’s roadmap to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Uganda and Tanzania has come under sharper focus after it emerged that Nairobi has yet to settle the mandatory KSh 3.5 billion hosting fee. Its two partners have already paid their share.
The unpaid amount is no small matter. It accounts for nearly half of the Sports Ministry’s recurrent expenditure and about 14 per cent of the ministry’s overall 2026/27 allocation of KSh 25.49 billion. That alone explains why Treasury officials are likely watching this file with furrowed brows.
The ministry had sought to raise the AFCON allocation from KSh 3.5 billion to KSh 5 billion, arguing that Kenya must match the standards witnessed at the 2025 tournament in Morocco. Lawmakers were not persuaded. The National Assembly Committee on Sports and Culture dismissed the proposal, maintaining that a three-country hosting arrangement should naturally ease financial strain rather than inflate it.
Webuye West MP Dan Wanyama put it bluntly, noting that Kenya should be trimming costs instead of benchmarking against a nation that hosted the tournament alone.
Sports Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi defended the request, explaining that he had led officials from Football Kenya on a benchmarking mission to Morocco. The delegation, he said, concluded that higher spending would be required if Kenya is to deliver a tournament of comparable quality.
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With Uganda and Tanzania having met their financial commitments, Kenya now finds itself balancing continental obligations against domestic fiscal realities. The country must also fast-track infrastructure upgrades and reassure the Confederation of African Football that preparations remain on course.
Recent reports in South African media suggested that infrastructural delays among the co-hosts could push the tournament back. Nicholas Musonye, chair of Kenya’s local organising committee, told AFP that a shift to 2028 might ease logistical pressure, especially with Kenya’s general election scheduled for August 2027.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has firmly dismissed talk of postponement or relocation, reiterating that the tournament will proceed in June and July 2027. He described the speculation as baseless and confirmed that inspections are ongoing across the three host nations to verify readiness.
Meanwhile, concerns about logistics are not new. Ivorian sports journalist Mamadou Gaye recently observed that road travel between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania can take up to two days, a reminder that infrastructure is not merely cosmetic but operational. He later clarified that his remarks were intended as constructive caution rather than criticism.
History, however, has a long memory. African football has seen hosts stumble before, including Kenya’s withdrawal in 1996. The lesson is simple enough. Hosting AFCON is not just a sporting honour. It is a logistical marathon wrapped in political arithmetic, and the bill always arrives before the final whistle.
