Confederation of African Football (CAF) has held an opening ceremony of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Safe Stadium Initiative Workshop to discuss on how to improve safety during matches in the stadiums.
Speaking at the event, FKF Vice President (VP) Doris Petra lauded the stakeholders for taking a step to safeguard the matches and the spectators.
“It is a success for us to have this training and it is important because safety begins with both you and I,” stressed Petra.
She further emphasised that the Government is supportive and responsive and has promised to give better and more grounds to FKF to offer proper security and safety both inside and outside the stadium and also for the officials.
Petra added that Kenya is looking forward to hosting the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 and FKF has implored CAF’s determination to train security people in safeguarding the host stadiums.
“It is our desire as FKF to see families coming with their children to watch football and go back home safely,” she reiterated.
During the workshop, the VP noted that the training offered is the first step towards ensuring that there is better security in stadiums and during matches since it will increase the source of income that will be streaming into the clubs from gate collections.
Apart from the clubs, Petra recognised the presence of football stewards, private security firms and security consultants who attended the training.
She assured the citizens that there was a discussion that led to an agreement with the CAF team that they are in desire to train more women as security officers.
The Current Head and Founder of CAF Safety and Security, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Senior Safety and Security Officer Sport Admin Lecturer and Consultant Dr Christian Emeruwa recalled that on the third of February 2019, CAF was given a mandate to develop safety and security systems that will improve the safety and security operations of matches across the continents of Africa as it was used as a measure for the standard of operations in all competitions.
“During the CAF tournament, we conduct inspections in all the functional activities and in every tournament, we conduct as a full time activity in areas where our scope covers,” noted Dr Emeruwa.
Meanwhile, at a sideline interview with the media, Austin Otieno Oduor a Tusker FC safety and security officer, said that the club’s safety and security officers (SSOs) and other stakeholders have learned how they can be able to come up with a clear safety and security risk mitigation plan for their various clubs from the workshop.
He mentioned that going into the future, all the stakeholders aim to create an environment whereby they can have both children, women and documented workers, vulnerable groups and other spectators whom they regard as their clients, going to watch matches in a safe and secure environment.
By Glory Mukhwana and Rebecca Kibegwa
