NAIROBI, Kenya, May 9- While the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani is 90 percent ready for Sunday’s international friendly between record Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia and English championship side Hull City on Sunday, there are doubts whether the Nyayo Stadium will beat the June 1 deadline set by the Sports Ministry.
Contractors at the Kasarani Stadium were busy on Wednesday morning doing the final patch-up on the pitch, working on the dressing rooms and media area with the playing surface now almost ready.
The playing area has been sealed off as the Kikuyu Grass planted by the specialists takes root and is smothered ahead of Sunday’s tie.
“There is still a small section that we have not finished but most of it is done. We took a bit of grass from Utalii and it is what we used to set base for what we had planted on our own. We changed the entire foundation and the drainage system so everything is okay with the pitch. We should be okay for Sunday,” one of the contractors from Gregori International who have been working on the pitch said.
However, there is a small concern on overuse and the contractors who have had to work with a crush program hope it will be managed properly.
Sports Principal Secretary Ambassador Peter Kaberia made an impromptu visit in the stadium on Wednesday afternoon and he says he is impressed with the work that has been put in.
“I am very happy that the pitch is taking shape and the guys here have done a good job. We were doing a sequential job; we started with Kasarani which it will be tested this week, then we continue with conclusion of the works,” Kaberia told Capital Sport.
-Kinoru Stadium-
“From here we will go to Meru which will be tested on Madaraka day with the national celebrations and after that we will also have a match there. We will then go to Nyayo after that and then we complete the job,” Kaberia added.
Nyayo is undergoing more work with the VIP dias and dressing rooms being done afresh and it is highly unlikely that it will be complete by June 1.
“We will strive to ensure that at least by the end of June, we have these three finally ready to host games. The Machakos stadium has been overstretched and for the sake of our sports people, we have to get these facilities ready,” Kaberia noted further.
Meanwhile, Kaberia noted that it will take more time for the completion of the Kipchoge Keino Stadium which has more pending work.