Ababu Namwamba: How Former Sports CS Formulated Kenya's Winning Bids for AFCON 2027 and 2029 World Championships

Former Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports, and the Arts Ababu Namwamba revealed the strategic framework behind two of the most significant hosting victories in African sports history.

Speaking in an in-depth interview with Media Guru, Ababu Namwamba outlined how a structured policy roadmap transformed Kenya from a nation plagued by venue deficiencies and administrative bans into the confirmed host of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), via the joint Pamoja Bid, and the historic venue for the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

When Namwamba stepped into the sports docket, he inherited an environment burdened by institutional challenges and historical disappointments.

Reflecting on his entry into government, he emphasised that his immediate strategy stemmed directly from the government’s foundational sports and creative economy framework.

Having personally contributed to drafting the policy document, he prioritised turning its core economic and youth empowerment targets into actionable sporting milestones.

Recalling his initial mindset upon taking office, Namwamba explained to Media Guru how the overall plan formed the backbone of his strategic vision.

"I believed we could do things differently. I was also convinced that the new administration that had put me in office as the cabinet secretary for sports, and we had a very solid plan around sports and the creative economy. I had actually participated in writing that plan. And when you go to that plan, you found a very clear agenda on how to deploy sports and the creative economy to propel our economic development and particularly empower our young people," Ababu Namwamba said.

To execute this economic agenda, Namwamba identified three distinct operational pillars designed to eliminate the logistical failures that previously saw Kenya lose the rights to host major tournaments like AFCON 1996 and the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

First, he prioritised a complete overhaul of national sports infrastructure, recognising that no country could credibly pitch for tier-one international events without modern facilities.

Second, he sought to pair venue development with an aggressive talent development pipeline, establishing the Talanta Hela initiative so that host teams would field competitive squads rather than merely participating as passive hosts.

Detailing the formulation and executive approval of this policy framework, Namwamba stated: "I just picked the targets from the plan. Among the targets in the plan was to make Kenya a hub for hosting significant regional and international events, and from that I prepared a very comprehensive long-term plan. In that plan, we had three goals or three objectives.

“Objective one, let us revolutionise our infrastructure because you can't even talk about hosting significant events if infrastructure is not up to scratch. The reason why we lost 1996 AFCON and 2018 CHAN was to a very large extent, due to unpreparedness with regard to infrastructure."

Addressing the necessity of pairing infrastructure with active athlete development, he added:

"So my grand plan had infrastructure as a first target. Target number two was to invest in a talent pipeline. It is so good to host events, but it is not so pleasant to host events where you are walloped left, right, centre, where you are nearly filling up the numbers but you are really not competing. I was convinced that even as we plan to host events, we must also plan to develop talents. The whole idea behind the Talanta initiative is to create a pipeline to start developing talents."

With the framework developed, Namwamba codified the roadmap into an official Cabinet paper, securing approval from government colleagues to begin implementation.

"I prepared a cabinet memo, a very comprehensive cabinet memo, that I presented to my colleagues in cabinet, which laid out that whole framework and the cabinet approved the plan. After cabinet approved that plan, of course, I went back to break it down to see what we should start with and right away, I thought AFCON 27 was a good starting point," he added.

With executive backing secured, Namwamba turned his focus to football, targeting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Recognising the financial and infrastructural demands of hosting an expanded 24-team continental tournament within a four-year timeline, he convened consultations with key stakeholders, including the Football Kenya Federation (FKF).

During these deliberations, Namwamba calculated that a solitary bid carried higher risks and greater capital burdens.

Drawing on regional diplomatic ties, he pitched a multi-nation co-hosting model alongside Uganda and Tanzania, a concept that gave birth to the historic "Pamoja Bid".

Describing how the collaborative regional strategy was born, Namwamba recounted: "I prepared a plan. I called stakeholders, including FKF. We consulted when we looked at our ability to put all the infrastructure together in three to four years.

“We thought it might be more cost-effective and more compelling for CAF if we went as a team. And so I proposed; I must admit my East Africanity had a big influence on this. I proposed that instead of Kenya going alone, why don't we do a PAMOJA bid? The word PAMOJA was actually born in that meeting."

In tandem with the football strategy, Namwamba addressed Kenya’s ambitions in global track and field. Following the disappointment of losing the 2025 World Athletics Championships bid to Tokyo, he instructed Athletics Kenya (AK) to pivot away from immediate hosting attempts.

Instead, he advised the federation to observe the operational mechanics of the Tokyo games firsthand while the ministry tackled internal issues, such as expanding anti-doping operations and renovating primary facilities like the Kasarani Stadium.

During a visit to Nairobi by World Athletics President Lord Sebastian Coe, Namwamba formally announced Kenya’s intention to bid for the 2029 edition.

The long-term strategy proved successful when World Athletics awarded the 2029 World Athletics Championships to Nairobi, marking the first time the senior global track showpiece will be staged on African soil after beating competing bids from major global capitals including London and Rome.

Reflecting on the strategic pivot and the magnitude of defeating established European bidding cities, Ababu Namwamba shared.

"I told Athletics Kenya to let 2025 go. Prepare to go to Tokyo to attend the World Athletics Championships, and pick lessons from how Tokyo will host this event, then let's sit down and put in a solid bid for 2029. And I announced it. In fact, when Sebastian Cole was in Nairobi, when I hosted him in Nairobi, I made that announcement,” he added.

“I announced to Kenyans that we'll put in a bid for 2029, and I assured Sebastian Cole that give us the opportunity to do this and Kenya will be ready. And so the journey started from there. The war against doping, improvements around Kasarani and other sporting facilities were all part of the grand journey towards convincing World Athletics that Kenya could actually be a serious host to this event. And so to beat cities like London is really something truly phenomenal.

“Kenya should be very, very proud that this championship is coming to Nairobi. Coming to Kenya and the whole of East Africa really should celebrate this because this will be a shot in the arm for athletics, not just for Kenya but for this region that is such a phenomenal part of world athletics."

With the 2027 AFCON Pamoja tournament and the 2029 World Athletics Championships secured, East Africa is set to host two of the biggest sporting events in world sports over the coming years.