BY LEONARD KIBOR
The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be staged in six stadiums across five cities in the Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11, 2024. The tournament, featuring 24 teams all gunning to be crowned champions of Africa is expected to draw thousands of spectators from across Africa and millions of others viewing through broadcast channels.
This will be the second time the West African country will be hosting the competition, the first happening in 1984. Twenty matches including the opening match and the final will be held in Abidjan, the commercial capital of the francophone state; while Bouake will be home to nine matches. Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital and the port city of San Pedro will each host eight matches. The city of Korhogo will stage seven matches in its 20,000-seater Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly stadium.
Cost of staging AFCON
Cote d’Ivoire is still reeling from a dark past of protracted post-electoral conflicts that involved current president Alassane Outtara against his predecessor and political nemesis Koudou Laurent Gbagbo. Before his ouster, Gbagbo had declined to cede power to Alassane Outtara who had been declared winner of the November 28, 2010 election. As a result, the international community, including the United States, the EU, the African Union and the regional body ECOWAS (the Economic Community Of West African States), all recognized Ouattara’s victory imposed sanctions on Gbagbo and his allies.
After the conflict, Cote d’Ivoire’s economy grew by 8.2% according to World Bank – becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. The COVID -19 pandemic was quickly mitigated resulting in minimal impact ensuring the country remained in a growth trajectory.
To execute this year’s football bonanza, it has cost Cote d’Ivoire a colossal $1bn (estimated Ksh 200bn) to build new stadiums, upgrade old ones as well as establish transport infrastructure. The country is not expected to recoup all this amount it has spent but hopes hosting the tournament will foster national cohesion and grow talent in the football powerhouse.
“Success, concerning the AFCON, is at various levels. The first level is to show, after the very impressive performance of Morocco at the last World Cup, that Africa is a real player in the global competition of football. For Côte d’Ivoire? If it the trophy is not won by us, this should be the starting phase for developing a great team for the future,” says Brizoua-Bi, an Ivorian football fan.
EA Pamoja Bid
After winning the bid for hosting the 2027 edition, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania can learn from the 2024 and the subsequent edition of the tournament to better prepare and avoid mishaps.
The tournament will be the first ever to be hosted by three countries and the first in 51 years to be organized within the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA).
First, the three countries are required to have at least three CAF-standard stadiums. A lot of work will need to be done on Kenya’s Kasarani, Nyayo and Kipchoge stadiums which were presented in the joint bid–dubbed Pamoja Bid by the three East African hosts.
Second, CAF requires the host cities to have approved training facilities close to the stadium. A five-star hotel and a level-five hospital. Tanzania’s Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam is the only CAF-certified stadium in the region.
This means that a huge investment will be required by the three neighbours to adequately prepare and make the competition successful. While Cameroon, the host of the 2022 edition spent an estimated $885m (Ksh3.2 trillion) to construct three new stadiums along with infrastructure such as hotels and roads, EA Pamoja Bid is expected to jointly cost $104 million, approximately Ksh. 15.3 billion – adjusted to a 2% annual inflation rate. The money is exclusive of what will be spent to build new and revamp existing sporting infrastructure in the three countries
LEONARD KIBOR is a freelance writer and public relations professional. Email: kipchumba_l@yahoo.com
