The first leg of the Mashemeji Derby is in major doubt, as Sports Kenya have confirmed that the match will not be staged at the Nyayo National Stadium.AFC Leopards had hoped to host their bitter rivals Gor Mahia at the facility on Sunday, but all indications point to the match being postponed to a later date owing to the unavailability of Nyayo.Sports Kenya Director General Pius Metto, without providing reasons, said, the facility was not available to host the biggest football club fixture in the country. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8211629##”No, Nyayo is not ready. When Leopards make a formal request, I will explain to them why the facility is not available,” said Metto in a brief telephone interview.In a separate interview, a Sports Kenya official told Mozzart Sport that Nyayo was an active construction site that was unfit to stage a match. The official revealed that renovation works at Nyayo were on a top gear as the facility is being prepared to relieve Kasarani Stadium the burden of hosting the 2025 CHAN matches. Gor Mahia captain Philemon Otieno sends message to fans ahead of Mashemeji DerbyLast month, it emerged that the government had settled on Kasarani to host CHAN matches with several grounds earmarked as training venues. The Kasarani Annex, Lang’ata Sports Complex and Police Sacco Grounds were identified as potential venues to host training sessions. “Both Nyayo and Kasarani are being prepared for CHAN. There are a lot of construction-related activities ongoing at Nyayo, making it unsuitable to host matches,” said the official, who sought anonymity as he is not authorized to the media. Kenyans react to Harambee Stars’ failed 2025 AFCON qualificationEfforts to get a comment on the matter, from Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda and club’s secretary general Gilbert Andugu, were futile as the duo did not answer calls.The unavailability of Nyayo leaves Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos as the only viable option but Ingwe are understood to be reluctant to use it for the derby.It is not also clear whether the facility was listed as among those can host a high risk game.
