The Kinoru Stadium is now ready to host international matches after successfully undergoing a Ksh 900M facelift.
The construction process for the 30,000 capacity stadium has faced challenges, having stalled severally along the way, although most of the works were complete by the end of 2020.
The stadium is now set to host major athletics competitions, football tournaments and other sporting activities in the African continent.
A National Government Project, the Kinoru Stadium renovation was first commissioned in 2014 by the then Meru Governor Peter Munya.
The stadium was earmarked to host the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN), but slow works made the Confederation of African Football (CAF) shift the competition to Morocco.
Speaking during a visit to assess the suitability of the stadium in January last year, FKF technical committee chairman Murithi Nabea said the turf was “not fit for even division one matches.”
The official observed that being among the venues that had been selected to host the 2018 African Nations Championship matches before Kenya was stripped of the rights to host it, there was need to ensure it fits international standards.
“The stadium still needs several corrections before it can be used. For now, the way the stadium is, it cannot host division one match, which is our third tier league, let alone the international matches. The surface is unplayable,” said Nabea.
The stadium thereafter underwent further corrective and additional facelift works.
The facility is now equipped with four changing rooms for teams and an extra two for officials. It also has VIP Lounges, a press conference room, and a media tribune. Once fully opened it will have additional basketball, netball, tennis, and volleyball courts.
During a tour of the stadium in July 2020, Sports CS Amina Mohammed urged the contractor to move with speed and ensure that the facility is completed by the set deadline.
The CS noted that it was very unfortunate that it had taken such a long time but added that she was happy with the work done so far as the field will be a model stadium to the rest of the country.
Before the renovation works, the stadium was mostly used for soccer matches and other events within Meru County.
The venue also hosted several functions including a Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) event in February 2020.
National teams that had applied to have the stadium as their home ground will now have a chance for their requests to be considered.
Several teams including Tusker FC have expressed their interest in playing their home matches at the stadium.
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