Ababu Namwamba: I left the Sports Ministry 'a rollercoaster of success'

"When I came our football was in limbo, it was in a freezer but the last two years has been a rollercoaster of success."

"We brought AFCON and I can't wait to have AFCON here in 2027. We brought CHAN and I can't wait to have CHAN here. The next big frontier is our women football," he said.

He at the same time delved into the thorny and divisive issue of elections imploring Football Kenya Federation to see to it that it holds its long overdue polls.

When Ababu took over the docket after President William Ruto formed his government, Kenyan football was under suspension by Fifa but he negotiated for the lifting of the suspension but the polls are yet to materialise owing to court cases.

Namwamba also wants FKF to make the Kenyan league more attractive to avoid the recent surge of Kenyan players to Tanzanian league for greener pastures.

"There is no reason why Kenyan players should find a Tanzanian league more attractive than Kenya," he said Friday evening when he graced the 2023/24 FKF Awards Gala.

He also hailed the federation for organising the awards gala, the first in three years.

"Coming as a fast one(awards) you are hosting in three years is a testament to how far out football has come in the last years. Our football can only get better, it can only get bigger," he said.

Meanwhile FKF President Nick Mwendwa says Kenya is on track to hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Tanzania and Uganda as well as the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) set for next year.

"Caf inspectors found our AFCON 2027 plan is on track," he said. "Initially such goodwill wasn't there...we must now finish Nyayo but the future is that next year we have CHAN and AFCON 2026," said Mwendwa.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who was the chief guest at the fete said that the government is seeing to it that the stadia under construction and renovation are "world class."

MISC Kasarani is undergoing a facelift while Talanta Sports City is being built from scratch.