FKF contradicts earlier stance on Harambee Stars vs Gabon ticket sales

Football Kenya Federation President Hussein Mohammed has revealed that only 15,968 tickets were sold for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier duel between Harambee Stars and Gabon, contradicting earlier reports, by the same body, that indicated that the match was sold out.

Days before the game, FKF CEO Harold Ndege had announced that 22,900 tickets were available—21,000 regular tickets priced at  Sh300 each, with VIP tickets going for Sh1,000 and VVIP tickets for Sh10,000.

“There will be 21,000 tickets for the terraces at Sh300 each, while VIP tickets will be sold at Sh1,000. No tickets will be sold beyond Saturday, and fans should ensure they purchase tickets from the official platforms to avoid confrontations or disappointments at the gate,” Ndege said.

The day before the match, FKF announced that all tickets had been sold, advising those who did not manage to purchase on time to watch the game on TV.

However, a large number of fans accessed the stadium after one of the gates at Nyayo was broken, leading to the scramble for seats across the stands.

On Monday, Hussein announced that FKF managed to sell 17,130 regular, 1,331 VIP, and 107 VVIP tickets, meaning that 6,932 gate passes were not sold. The federation generated close to Sh6.5m from ticket sales.

“It is important to first understand the seating capacity of Nyayo Stadium. In the past, we’ve seen various figures, but the total number of seats at Nyayo is approximately 22,000—that’s the number we have from Sports Kenya,” Hussein said during a presser on Tuesday.

He stated that not all the tickets were sold out due to CAF regulations that require the stadium not to be fully filled for a match.

“The regular seating is about 18,000, VIP is 1,400, and we do not count the VVIP section as that is reserved for invited guests. According to CAF regulations, you are not supposed to sell 100% of the seats; you’re required to sell slightly fewer,” he added.

“For the sake of transparency, it’s important to clarify what has been sold. For regular seats, we sold 15,968 tickets, 1,331 for VIP, 329 car park slots, and 107 tickets for the VVIP area,”