Nicholas Musonye during the Sportsbiz Africa activation in Nairobi on Tuesday/HANDOUT
The 2027 African Cup of Nations should create lasting business opportunities for East Africans and leave a strong infrastructure legacy, Local Organising Committee chairman Nicholas Musonye has said.
Speaking at the Sportsbiz Africa activation at Serena Hotel, Musonye said organisers are putting structures in place to ensure local businesses benefit from the tournament, which Kenya will jointly host with Uganda and Tanzania.
“We have huge business opportunities for our people. We have developed a structure that we want our people to participate in the procurement process of the activities that we are going to undertake,” Musonye said.
He said the LOC would require a wide range of goods and services, providing opportunities for local businesses, while merchandising would also open up space for traders and the informal sector.
“We want our people to benefit from this Afcon. We don't want to have an Afcon, then people go home without anything. We want our businessmen, our mwananchi and our Jua Kali to benefit from this event,” he said.
Tourism will also be a major focus, with the LOC working with Magical Kenya and the Kenya Tourism Board to develop packages aimed at attracting visitors before, during and after the tournament.
“We want to take advantage of Afcon to promote tourism in this country and in the region in general,” Musonye said.
He said the tournament should also accelerate Kenya's sports infrastructure development, pointing to the Talanta Sports City project and renovations at Kasarani and Kipchoge Keino Stadium.
“For a very long time, our infrastructure was wanting. But now we have the main stadium, Talanta. We are renovating Kasarani, and we are working on Kipchoge Keino Stadium,” he said.
“Our infrastructure is going to be one of the best in Africa. Our teams and our athletes will enjoy these facilities for a long time. This is going to be a legacy we are going to leave behind after Afcon.”
Musonye also promised tough action against corruption in the organisation of the tournament, insisting public funds must be used prudently.
“No one is going to misbehave with this Afcon. If we detect anyone who is going to misbehave with this Afcon, we'll get him out,” he said. “We want to utilise this money well so that we organise a good tournament, a tournament that will be remembered.”
On the regional nature of the Pamoja bid, Musonye said work was under way towards a common visa to ease movement between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Security, he added, would be a key priority. He also challenged the three host nations to ensure their teams are competitive rather than simply participating.
“We want our Harambee Stars, Taifa Stars of Tanzania and Cranes of Uganda to be strong,” he said.
“Out of the four semi-finals that we are going to have, we must have a team in that semi-final, or two. We want to organise an event and compete to win, not just to participate.”
He said the three federations should arrange quality friendly matches after the qualifiers to build teams capable of challenging Africa's best.
