African Nations Championship kicks off

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00:00Final training session before Kenya's first ever match in the African Nations Championship.

00:07They'll be facing their Congo two-time champions.

00:11We have camped, I think, right now almost three weeks to a month.

00:14We're fully ready. Also, we thank the coach. He's prepared us very well.

00:18So we are focused for the game on Sunday.

00:21Players say the delay didn't throw them off.

00:24In fact, for the coach, the extra time may have been a blessing.

00:29Having Chan postponed for six months has kind of given everybody a chance to also work on

00:35become better during their time and now they will be ready to showcase their talent

00:41and hopefully Kenya is not going to be a disappointment.

00:46Kenya will play in two renovated stadiums that were not ready in January.

00:52Organizers now insist everything is in place.

00:55Even the president is promoting the tournament.

01:01This August, something big is happening.

01:05The country needs to demonstrate that the tournament can run smoothly.

01:09The stakes are high. Chan is seen as a dress rehearsal for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations,

01:14which will also be hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

01:18In Nairobi, a brand new 60,000-seat stadium is currently under construction.

01:23For these sports journalists, things seem to be moving in the right direction.

01:27I think we are ready for now. We've been pushing the government to have these stadiums ready.

01:31We've just come from a period where there are no stadiums.

01:34These tournaments now give people, especially these people who have never had a chance to prepare for big tournaments,

01:39to see how things will be, because half-court is bigger, obviously.

01:42We've got more eyeballs. We've got bigger pairs coming through.

01:45The media is coming here. So it's a chance for everyone to see how things will be moving.

01:49And some of them, if they don't work right now, you can be able to rectify and make them work by 2027.

01:54By then, a new stadium should be completed and filled.

01:5845,000 tickets for Kenya's first Chan match were sold out in less than two days.

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