The Confederation of African Football has restricted the number of tickets to be sold for the African Nations Championship Group A match pitting Zambia against hosts Kenya at the Kasarani Stadium this Sunday to only 27,000.
This represents 60% of the total stadium capacity (48,000) as a precautionary measure to manage crowd control and avoid security breaches, which have been witnessed in the past three Kenyan matches.
In a letter addressed to the CHAN LOC Chairman Nicholas Musonye, CAF also directed the abolishment of the sale of printed tickets and restricted it to only electronic tickets.
CAF also urged the LOC and the government to run media campaigns aimed at reinforcing safety protocols and entry requirements.
CAF,threated to force Harambee Stars to play its future home matches in neutral venues outside Kenya should the LOC and government fail to adhere to set security standards.
Among the security lapses cited by CAF in Sunday’s Kenya vs Morocco match at Kasarani include;
1.Overrunning of stadium gates and PSAs by ticketless spectators and holders of physical tickets distributed by the government, breaches of the perimeter fence, and loss of control at exit points.
2.Initial crowd control failure at Ngomongo roundabout, leading to uncontrolled access through multiple gates.
3.Use of tear gas and flash grenades causing panic, with reports of live ammunition fired near spectators and staff.
4.Violent incidents, including stone-throwing at security personnel and unsafe vehicle movement in spectator areas.
5.Inadequate police response despite repeated requests for intervention.
6.No medical incident reports submitted following reported injuries.
7.Insufficient communication tools and lack of CCTV coverage at critical entry points.
Kenya will play Zambia’s Chipolopolo in the last group. A match in the 8pm kickoffmatch at the Kasarani stadium, which the Harambee Stars need to win to guarantee themselves a top spot in the group.
