Only 27,000 fans will henceforth be allowed to attend Kenya’s matches at the Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Kasarani, in Nairobi, during the ongoing 2024 African Nations Championship. Initially, it would hold a 60,000-seater capacity, but after renovation, it was reduced to 48,000.
Reducing fan attendance at the stadium by 40 per cent is among several key measures that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has taken to avoid a repeat of security breaches and crowd trouble at the venues during Harambee Stars’ matches.
On Sunday, ahead of Kenya’s Harambee Stars’ highly anticipated Group ”A” clash against giants Morocco, scores of fans jumped over the fence to access the Moi International Sports Center stadium, in Kasarani Nairobi
This came barely a week after the CAF Disciplinary Board imposed a total fine of Sh2.5 million ($20,000) on Football Kenya Federation (FKF) due to breach of CAF Disciplinary Code, as well as CAF Safety and Security Regulations during the group’s two matches held on August 3.
The fixtures were Kenya’s 1-0 win over two-time Chan champions the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at MISC and Morocco’s 2-0 win over Angola at the 18,000-seater Nyayo National Stadium.
Acts of hooliganism were also witnessed ahead of Kenya’s 1-1 draw against Angola on Thursday last week. CAF said these incidents “present unacceptable risks to spectators, staff, and the integrity of the tournament.”
“As a result, CAF is mandating the following measures for all upcoming Kenya home matches at Kasarani: Capacity restriction: Maximum 60 percent of stadium capacity (27,000 tickets). Ticketing: Entry strictly limited to electronic ticket holders; thermal tickets prohibited,” CAF said on Monday evening.
CAF also directed Kenya’s Local Organising Committee to launch a public media campaign reinforcing safety protocols and entry requirements.
CAF also warned that failure to implement the new measures will lead to more serious sanctions, including finding alternative venues for Harambee Stars to play its home matches.
According to CAF, some of the security breaches witnessed on Sunday include: overrunning of stadium gates and PSAs by ticket-less spectators and holders of physical tickets distributed by the government, breaches of the perimeter fence, and loss of control at exit points.
CAF also said there had been a crowd control failure at Ngomongo roundabout, leading to uncontrolled access through multiple gates, use of tear gas and flash grenades, causing panic, with reports of live ammunition fired near spectators and staff.
Others are violent incidents, including stone-throwing at security personnel, and unsafe vehicle movement in spectator areas, inadequate police response despite repeated requests for intervention, lack of medical incident reports submitted following reported injuries, and insufficient communication tools and lack of CCTV coverage at critical entry points.
“We trust that these measures will be applied swiftly to protect the competition’s integrity, to ensure fan safety, and to uphold confidence in Kenya’s commitment to the tournament,” CAF said in the statement.
The chaos on Monday saw the suspension of the sale of tickets for Kenya’s crucial Group ‘A’ match against Zambia, which is scheduled for Sunday at MISC, Kasarani.
