Kenya Formally Bids to Host AFCON 2017

By Omondi Onyatta

Dare to Dream: Kenya's 2017 AFCON bid logo 

The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) formally submitted the country’s bid to host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on 29 September 2014. Kenya had thrown its hat in the ring after Libya, who were previously designated as the hosts, voluntarily withdrew due to insecurity concerns in the country.

A statement from FKF revealed that among the bid documents submitted was a documentary highlighting Kenya’s sports facilities. The federation exuded confidence that Kenya would be awarded the rights to host Africa’s largest football event. “The bid documents are already at the CAF (Confederation of African Football) headquarters. We are confident that our bid is strong enough for us to host this event,” the statement read.

However, Kenya will have to ward off strong bids from Ghana, Ethiopia, Mali, Algeria and Zimbabwe to emerge as the hosts for the event. This will only be possible with government support. The statement, signed by FKF Secretary General Michael Esakwa, further praised the government for its support. “We are extremely delighted by the government’s support on our bid,” the statement read.

So far, only the Ethiopian and Ghanaian governments have committed to supporting their football federations' bid to host the tournament. However, Wenlas Ong'ayo, the Director of Administration in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts, reiterated the Kenyan government’s commitment to bringing the football bonanza to the country. “We have sent a commitment letter to the relevant authorities to show that this bid has the full support of the government,” he revealed.

Kenya has designated four stadiums in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret and Kisumu as possible venues if the country is awarded the hosting rights. They include Nyayo National Stadium and Safaricom Stadium (Nairobi), Moi Stadium (Mombasa), Kipchoge Keino (Eldoret) and the recently refurbished Moi Stadium in Kisumu.

If the bid goes through, this will be the second time the country is awarded the rights to host the tournament. In 1996, the country was scheduled to host the event but pulled out after which it was awarded to South Africa who eventually won the tournament.

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No Rest for Rampaging Ronaldo

By Omondi Onyatta

  

2013 FIFA World Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has ruled out taking some time off playing to rejuvenate himself. The Portuguese attacker has been bedevilled with injury problems towards the end of the 2013/14 season as well as in the early stages of the 2014/15 season.

Ronaldo, however, insists that he is fully fit and does not need to rest at this early stage of the season. “I do not feel any pain and am still improving. I want to continue like this and need to play to gain confidence and rhythm. When the right time comes, I will rest and rotate,” the former Manchester United forward told the official FIFA website.

His fitness concerns have done little to hamper his goal-scoring spree as he has scored seven goals in the last two matches for Real Madrid. Last weekend, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 8-2 in a La Liga encounter. He followed it up with another stellar performance as he bagged four goals in a 5-1 win for Los Blancos against Elche in a midweek encounter.

 CR7 walks away with the match ball after a four-goal haul against Elche (Image Credit: asia.eurosport.com)

However, after five matches, Real Madrid lie in fifth position with nine points; four adrift of current table toppers Valencia CF. They have won three matches and lost two more — against Real Sociedad and bitter rivals Atletico Madrid. 

CR7’s blazing form is good news for club, country and the player himself after a difficult few weeks. Los Blancos have lost Argentine Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso to Manchester United and Bayern Munich respectively in the just concluded summer transfer window — both have proved instant hits with their new clubs.

These sales did not seem to go down well with Ronaldo despite the club finding able replacements in Colombian James Rodriguez from AS Monaco and World Cup winner Toni Kroos from Bayern Munich.

Ronaldo came off the back of a miserable World Cup campaign where Portugal were knocked out at the group stage after a 4-0 loss to Germany, 2-2 draw with USA and 2-1 win over Ghana. In a tournament he was widely expected to shine brightest, the Portuguese skipper only managed a solitary strike — an inconsequential last gap winner against Ghana.

In recent times, CR7 has expressed his desire to return to the Red Devils one day — the club where he first made his mark under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson.  The story has gained further momentum after Manchester United Manager Louis Van Gaal stated that re-signing Ronaldo was a possibility even though the Spanish side would be hard-pushed to sell.

However, any deal to bring back CR7 to Old Trafford would have to wait as the Portuguese is rumoured to want to break Real Madrid’s all time goal-scoring record before leaving the Bernabeu. Saturday’s match away to Villareal offers him the chance to bag more goals as he seeks to become Los Blancos’ all-time top scorer.

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