Big Boost for Harambee Stars as CAF Increases Kasarani Stadium Attendance for Madagascar Clash

Harambee Stars can look forward to a big support during their 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN 2024) quarter-final against Madagascar at Kasarani Stadium on Friday.

Confederation of African Football (CAF), who are the tournament organisers, had ordered a reduction of fans to 60 per cent during Kenya’s final group stage match against Zambia last Sunday and also fined the country after an overflow of supporters into Kasarani during the game against Morocco.

That saw just 27,000 fans allowed to witness the 1-0 win for Benni McCarthy’s men against the Chipolopolo but ahead of the clash with Madagascar, the government and other football stakeholders, have been calling on CAF to increase the attendance.

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“We did not have any incident that could attract sanctions from CAF, and therefore, we want to thank the 12th man, the fans, the security team, and all stakeholders who played a key role in ensuring a seamless game on Sunday. This affirmation underscores Kenya’s commitment to delivering a safe and world-class tournament experience,” Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said on Wednesday, while asking CAF to revise the stadium to full capacity.

However, on Thursday, CAF yielded to the calls with an increase in the number of fans that will attend the match at Kasarani Stadium for Friday’s match.

As per Mvurya, the capacity has been increased from 60 to 80 per cent, which means 36,000 supporters will attend, up from the 27,000 that were allowed last Sunday.

“I have welcomed Confederation of African Football (CAF)’s decision to revise stadium attendance to 80%, translating to 36,000 tickets. CAF is working to re-open the ticketing portal to accommodate the additional numbers, ensuring more fans can rally behind our National Team Harambee Stars in the ongoing CHAN 2024 tournament,” Mvurya said on Thursday.

It is a boost for Harambee Stars whose good group stage results has been attributed to the massive push from fans who had been snapping up the tickets for all their previous three matches before the Zambia clash.

Kenya are looking to get a win over Madagascar to continue their impressive run by making it into the semi-final in what is their debut appearance at the tournament.