Former Kenya national team captain Victor Wanyama has challenged the Harambee Stars to take advantage of playing at home and make historic performances during the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in East Africa.
The 2027 edition will be one of the most significant tournaments in the history of African football, with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda set to jointly host the competition.
It will be the first AFCON to be staged by three countries, marking a major moment for East African football and for the wider continent, and the first in five decades to be organised in the CECAFA region, since it was hosted by Ethiopia in 1976.
Kenya has automatically qualified as one of the tournament’s three co-hosts, but will participate in the qualification campaign, where they have been drawn into Group D alongside South Africa, Guinea, and Eritrea.
Wanyama, who earned 64 caps for Kenya, and scored seven goals, believes Harambee Stars will do better in the tournament.
Kenya will move into latter stages
“Hopefully the Kenyan national team can use the home advantage to make historic performances,” said Wanyama as quoted by CAFOnline.com.
“I captained the Kenyan team at our last AFCON and we won only one match in Egypt. I am confident, however, that this Kenyan team can do better than us and move into the latter stages.”
Kenya’s last participation at (AFCON) was in 2019 in Egypt, where they were eliminated in the group stage. This marked their sixth overall tournament appearance, having previously qualified for the finals in 1972, 1988, 1990, 1992, and 2004.
“I am really excited to see Kenya host the AFCON because it is a huge opportunity for Kenyan football,” added Wanyama.
“It is a chance for the fans to see international stars right in their own backyard and for anyone who loves football, this is a huge thing.”
Wanyama added: “For the players, it is another opportunity to showcase their talent to the rest of the world.
“There’s a certain confidence that comes with playing at home and this will give them a comfortable platform to express themselves.
“We will open up Kenyan football to the rest of the world and this will be the beginning of our improvement.”
‘People know Kenya for athletics’
On how 2027 AFCON could change perceptions about Kenyan sport, the former Tottenham midfielder said: “I am glad that these players will get a chance of what we couldn’t when we were playing and it is such opportunities that make a difference.
“People majorly know Kenya for athletics but now we have an opportunity to sell our football and our talent.”
Wanyama continued: “In terms of facilities, hosting AFCON will see us improve our stadiums, road networks, training grounds and so many other things.
“For a long time in Kenya, sports has suffered because there haven’t been many facilities and people end up squeezing into the little that is there.
“Hosting a tournament of this magnitude ensures we construct world-class stuff and this ends up improving the sport.”
Wanyama concluded: “CHAN was a huge step for us, but AFCON will be on a completely different scale. The number of fans, teams, visitors and the global attention that comes with it will be much bigger.
“If we saw a positive impact with CHAN, then I am confident AFCON will leave an even greater legacy for Kenyan football and for the country as a whole.”
Because of the AFCON, Kenya have put up a new stadium – Talanta – a 60,000-seat, football-specific arena in Nairobi.
The stadium features a football-specific bowl design (no athletics track) and an exterior facade designed with traditional Kenyan shield and spear motifs.
