AFC Leopards Make Nyayo Stadium Plea Amid Imminent Closure for AFCON 2027 Renovations

AFC Leopards are hoping that they will not be kept away from Nyayo Stadium for long next season even as the facility is set to be closed for renovations.

Nyayo Stadium has been open for various activities in recent months but will be closed for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations renovations given it is one of the facilities designated as a training venue.

For Leopards, that will be a setback as the stadium has become a key source of their revenue going by the numbers released by the club’s treasurer Newton Lime at the Annual General Meeting last weekend.

Lime disclosed that Leopards made just over Ksh23 million in matchday revenue, most of it coming from ticket sales while the rest was generated from merchandise sale, in the year ending December 31, 2025.

The Leopards treasurer said this was more than double from the previous financial year and attributes this to the club playing most of its matches at Nyao Stadium.

“We had an increase in matchday revenue. We had an increase of 127% in gate collection compared to the previous period primarily due to availability of Nyayo Stadium,” Lime told members. “Most matches we played them here which led to high match attendance.”

Leopards say having Nyayo available to them increases match attendance due to the stadium’s location which makes it easily accessible to fans unlike other venues.

The club therefore hopes that they will use the stadium more in the 2026-27 season as they look to further increase their matchday revenue.

It is not known for how long the stadium will be closed for renovations but with the continental tournament set to held between June and July 2027, Ingwe might be forced to host their matches away from their preferred home, which will have a huge impact on their matchday revenue.