World Cup 2010 Kenya prepares as a stopover attraction

There is no event like the soccer world cup. All the others, the Olympics, the world championships in athletics, the continental soccer derbies may be close, but none of them make it. The world cup is one of a kind.

For the first time, the 32-nation soccer final will take place in Africa. South Africa will be the host country, and new soccer facilities are being installed and existing ones upgraded to ensure the country is ready to host the World Cup.

It is not lost on the other countries in the region that the World Cup is too big an event for one country to handle alone. Teams will need to acclimatize for the event before going to the actual venue. Countries that share the same conditions as the venue, have good sports facilities, established infrastructure, means of communication and accommodation will be useful.

Of all the nations in Africa, none fit better into this category than Kenya. In addition to the 60,000-seat Moi International Sports Complex, the country also has two other stadiums in the city, Nyayo and City Stadiums that are of international standard. The city’s stadium, which has a long history as the dream home of soccer players and fans, is scheduled to undergo major renovations before 2010.

Kenya is known as a vibrant tourist destination. There are excellent accommodation facilities in Kenya that over the years have been used by the millions of tourists who visit the many tourist attractions in the country. The media here is vibrant. In fact, apart from South Africa, Kenya is the only other country in Africa, south of the Sahara, where Internet and mobile phones can be found even in the most remote shopping malls.

Soccer stars will have it easy here. In fact, the best African football teams prefer Nairobi as their first choice training ground. The untamed lions of Cameroon and the soaring eagles of Nigeria have camped here for the last two years in Kenya.

In addition to the main stadiums, there are institutions that could offer excellent training grounds for teams seeking privacy. Kenya’s central bank-owned school of monetary studies has everything any World Cup participating team could want. Its pitch is world class, its accommodation excellent, security provided by the paramilitary general services unit and it is only a twenty-five minute drive from the international airport.

With a little updating, the Karen-based KC B institute can also provide excellent boot camps. Teams that don’t mind using facilities outside of Nairobi will find Naivasha an attractive destination. Flower based businesses have put in good facilities that will just need to be polished for use.

Tanzania has recently opened a sixty thousand seat in Dar-es-Salaam. It will also be available as a training ground for teams destined for the world cup, and its commercialization has already been initiated by the Tanzanian government. Uganda and Rwanda will surely try to market their places too.

The world cup may be heading to South Africa, but Kenya and the East African region are already gearing up to take part in the biggest event ever held in Africa.