AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia be warned! No shenanigans at Ulinzi Complex

©Ulinzi Stars.

FOOTBALL AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia be warned! No shenanigans at Ulinzi Complex

Joel Omotto 17:00 - 29.07.2023

The two Kenyan giants have hinted at shifting their base to the military-owned grounds but they will have to meet some tough conditions to be allowed in.

AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia will have to abide by some tough rules if they want to use the Ulinzi Sports Complex for their league and cup matches next season.

Leopards have indicated that they intend to temporarily shift base to Ulinzi Complex owing to the impending closure of Nyayo Stadium for renovations as Kenya prepares for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations if the EAC Pamoja Bid succeeds.

With Kasarani also set to be closed for the same purpose, Gor Mahia will also find themselves without a home in Nairobi and Ulinzi Complex has been mooted as a possible alternative.

“Our only alterative in Nairobi now is Uinzi Complex but we have nine Premier League teams in Nairobi which will pose a major challenge,” Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda told Pulse Sports last week.

However, shifting base to Ulinzi will come with conditions which the interested clubs will have to meet.

“We have not received any request yet from any club. They need to write a request letter before anything can be decided. Once they do that, it will depend on a certain team within the military to decide if they will be allowed in or not,” said a source from Ulinzi, who sought anonymity as he is not authorised to speak on the matter.

While confirming their intention to shift to Ulinzi, Shikanda also feared that the ground could be overwhelmed by the huge number of matches from Nairobi-based teams while its 1000-seater capacity will financially hit hard sides with a huge fanbase like Ingwe and K'Ogalo.

There have also been concerns over security at the venue given the huge number of supporters, especially from the Mashemeji rivals that would want to get in on matchday.

“Security is not a problem for us, the issue is if the clubs will meet our requirements. The clubs will have to agree with our terms because we have a certain way we do things here. They should not expect to operate the way they have been doing at Nyayo Stadium,” added the source.

Besides Gor and Leopards, Kariobangi Sharks, Nairobi City Stars, and Posta Rangers are the other Nairobi-based teams that will be looking for alternative venues with the Kenya Police Sacco ground also seen as an option.

Ulinzi Complex has been the home venue of Ulinzi Stars since it was commissioned by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in April 2022.