NAIROBI, November 4- Football Kenya Federation (FKF)’s much vaunted 2017 Afcon bid has flunked at the very first hurdle after CAF’s Executive Committee rejected it during their meeting in Cairo last week.
A short statement on their website, Cafonline.com ruled Kenya out of the four nations being considered to host the biennial continental football showpiece after emergency hosts Equatorial Guinea stage the 2015 extravaganza in January.
“Of the countries which submitted bids to the General Secretariat of CAF by the deadline of 30th September 2014, only four were determined to be compliant with the set criteria to be considered. Those are for Algeria, Egypt, Gabon and Ghana.
Sudan and Zimbabwe were the other interested nations to be tossed out of the running.
“The Executive Committee will finalize the date on which to take the vote to determine the host country,” the declaration from CAF published on Sunday read.
Only last week, FKF president Sam Nyamweya claimed the bid lodged to replace war torn Libya had received support from USA President, Barrack Obama and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o as optimism ran high the country would land the hosting rights of the biennial competition.
Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Arts and Culture, Dr. Hassan Wario also pledged the Government would build two new international stadia to add to the existing Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani and Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi purposely to host the tournament.
It was also announced Nyamweya would chair the Local Organising Committee with Gerald Chege as the CEO for the showpiece with regional body Cecafa Secretary General, Nicholas Musonye, Sports Secretary Japheth Rugut and two other FKF executive committee members among others members.
The development will come as a blow for the country that spurned a chance to host the 1996 edition that went to South Africa due to political undertones of the day despite being given a chance.
Kenya was then banned for two editions of the showpiece they last qualified in 2004 when it was played in Tunisia.
The binned 10-page bid document was presented to CAF headquarters in Cairo by Fifa-licensed agent Francis Gaitho on behalf of FKF hours before the deadline lapsed in September.
