- The Talanta City Stadium will be located on Ngong Road
- It is a football only stadium
- China Road and Bridge Company will construct the facility
President William Ruto has broken ground for the new Talanta City Stadium, one of the two principal hosts for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The new stadium which will be tailor made for football and rugby only, will be constructed at the Jamhuri Grounds on Ngong Road.
Initially, there had been debate on where the stadium should be located, with Shanzu in Mombasa being widely discussed. However the final decision has been made to have the 60,000-seater stadium in the Capital.
“There was a huge debate as to whether we should have this here or Mombasa. For many reasons, I was persuaded and we decided to have this facility here (Jamhuri) but we will equally find space in Mombasa to do a good low altitude stadium which will serve both athletics and other sports to train and compete in,” President Ruto said as he officially broke ground for the construction.
The stadium is expected to be complete by December 2025, two years in advance of the 2027 AFCON. It will be constructed by China Road and Bridge Company, under supervision from the Kenya Defense Forces.
President Ruto has instructed both the Ministry of Defense CS Aden Duale and his Sports colleague Ababu Namwamba to ensure that work at the stadium goes on to plan, and says he will be making visits to the stadium to inspect the progress.
“I will expect the defense team led by CS Duale (Aden) and the CDF to make sure that all timelines which we have agreed are kept by the contractor and I expect that there will be weekly supervision. I will be here myself every three months until this facility is completed,” the Head of State said.
AFCON comes to East Africa
President William Ruto being taken through the model of the new stadium
Kenya won the bid to host the 2027 Cup of Nations (AFCON), alongside neighbors Uganda and Tanzania. Each of the three host countries are expected to provide at least two principal host venues and two more alternate venues.
Kenya has chosen the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani and Talanta City Stadium as the two principal venues, while the Nyayo National Stadium and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret are the alternate stadia.
The Head of State believes that with the commitment shown by the Sports Ministry over the last few months, Kenya will be ready in advance to welcome the rest of the continent in 2027 to a world class AFCON event.
“I want to commend the work done over the last six months. We have had many meetings and a lot of back and forth because we wanted to make sure we are building a world class stadium in record time and cost effective,” President Ruto further stated.
Meanwhile, Spirts CS Namwamba has said the Ministry has laid out meticulous plans to ensure the stadium remains profitable even after the Cup of Nations.
Thinking beyond AFCON 2027
President William Ruto with FKF boss Nick Mwendwa, Defense CS Aden Duale and Sports CS Ababu Namwamba
“We have thought beyond AFCON 2027. We have imagined revenues from this stadium including naming rights as well as a professional management to turn this into an economic hub,” Ababu said.
He added; “We have curated this stadium to hand Kenyan teams the much-needed 12th man advantage. It ticks all FIFA and CAF requirements and is a tech savvy stadium designed for top level TV broadcast and is comparable to the very best in the world.”
At the same time, the President has said that existing structures at Jamhuri will not be brought down to make room for the Talanta Stadium, but instead be enhanced to make it available for the local community to use.
Meanwhile, the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani, which has already been closed and renovation works started, is expected to be ready for AFCON by December this year. CS Ababu said that possibly, the official opening of the newly refurbished facility will be done by close of year.
The work around Kasarani majorly included the improvement of the playing surface, installation of a canopy all round the stadium as well as improvement of structures including the VIP dias, media areas and changing rooms.
President William Ruto breaking ground for the new stadium
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