Sports Kenya to wait a little longer for Kasarani hand-over

While the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani is ready for Sunday’s international friendly between record Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia and English Championship side Hull City on Sunday, the refurbished stadium will not be handed back to Sports Kenya before the ground breaking tie as was widely expected.

A Sports Kenya official who spoke to Citizen Digital on condition of anonymity noted that the renovation workS is yet to be completed, and the handing over will be done at a later date, after the much awaited friendly pitting Gor and the English side.

After playing Hull on Sunday, Gor is poised to take on USM Algir of Algeria on Wednesday at the same venue

“The contractor is finalizing on rebranding the stadium and we will allow those two games to be played under the contractor because everything is ready inside the stadium. We cannot force the company to hand over the stadium if they feel it’s not the right time,”said the official.

Fifteen players of the Hull City first team will be among the 38-member delegation expected to jet in the country on Friday night for the big day, and they will train at the newly refurbished facility before facing K’Ogalo 3pm at the same venue in the subsequent day.

The local league leaders booked Hull City assignment after edging bitter rivals AFC Leopards 5-4 on post-match penalties, at the Afraha Stadium in Nakuru, on Labour Day.

Meanwhile, Sports Principal Secretary Peter Kaberia has said that Kinoru Stadium in Meru County will beat Sports Ministry June 1 deadline while casting doubt on the ability of the Nyayo National Stadium and Kipchoge Keino in Eldoret to beat the deadline.

In an exclusive interview with Citizen Digital at ministry’s offices in Nairobi, Kaberia said Kinoru will be ready to host this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations on June 1.

“Kinoru now is almost over because the contractor is through with planting new grass and the only place remaining is on the stands, and I am sure by June 1 we will host Madaraka Day in that stadium,”Kaberia enthused.

The PS disclosed that Nyayo will be ready by June 30 while Kipchoge is far from completion and the exact date for reopening remains unclear.

“After Kinoru we will shift focus to Nyayo but the work is ongoing well and the stadium will be totally different from others because its VIP section will be of pure glass; that’s why we might reopen the stadium a month later. For Kipchoge, we cannot reveal when the renovation will be over but what I know it will be over after Nyayo,” said Kaberia.

Kaberia also noted that the new  refurbished stadia have been sanctioned by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and they will be able to host athletics events from next year.