More Football fans of the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 will be allowed in Kasarani Stadium for Kenya’s quarterfinal clash with Madagascar on Friday, after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) increased capacity, following partial closure sanctions imposed after security breaches during the Harambee Stars’ earlier matches.
CAF has approved an 80% stadium capacity for Kenya’s CHAN quarterfinal clash against Madagascar, allowing at least 38,400 fans to attend the match.
The decision comes after Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya and the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) appealed to the federation to revise Kasarani Stadium’s capacity from 60% to full capacity.
CAF had limited the number of spectators to 27,000 (60 per cent) of the stadium’s capacity, due to repeated and serious security lapses at Harambee Stars’ CHAN 2024 fixtures.
Reducing fan attendance at the 48,000-seater stadium by 40 percent was among several key measures that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) took to prevent a repeat of security breaches and crowd trouble during Harambee Stars’ matches.
On Sunday, ahead of Harambee Stars’ highly anticipated Group “A” clash against Morocco, scores of fans jumped over fences to gain access to the stadium.
This came barely a week after the CAF Disciplinary Board imposed a total fine of Ksh 2.5 million ($20,000) on the FKF for breaching the CAF Disciplinary Code and CAF Safety and Security Regulations during the group’s two matches held on August 3.
Since then, FKF has been fined a total of about Ksh 12.8 million by the CAF Disciplinary Board over multiple safety and security breaches that occurred during the group stage games.
Meanwhile, Sports Cs Salim Mvurya has confirmed that preparations for Friday’s crunch encounter were in top gear, with strengthened security, improved lighting, and smooth gate operations planned to ensure both safety and an enjoyable fan experience.
To expand access for supporters, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) have increased official fan zones from 10 to 13 across Nairobi.
New zones have been established at Ruiru, Dagoretti’s Camp Toyoyo, and Babadogo, joining existing locations including Uhuru Park, Archives, Dandora, Jacaranda, Clay City, Githurai, Kibra DC Grounds, and Lucky Summer in Kasarani.
The CS also welcomed private and county stakeholders interested in establishing additional fan zones across Nairobi and Mombasa. In Mombasa, six new zones will be hosted at Changamwe Volleyball Grounds (Changamwe), St. Mary’s Bangladesh Grounds (Jomvu), Mama Ngina Waterfront (Mvita), Shelly Beach (Likoni), Hassan Joho Stadium—Uwanja wa Mbuzi (Nyali), and Bilima Grounds (Kisauni).
On ticketing, the Ministry confirmed that CAF is addressing technical issues on its online portal.
“CAF is sorting out the issue of ticketing. There was a challenge yesterday, and they are working on it. We are confident they will announce soon how fans can access tickets through the portal. In the meantime, we urge Kenyans to maintain their high spirits, unity, and unwavering support for the Harambee Stars,” he said.