Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has met delegations from German football team FC Bayern Munich and Dutch team AFC Ajax to discuss security and logistical arrangements for their match on January 5, 2027. Andreas Kufner, Head of International Activations and Tours for FC Bayern Munich and Sascha Smulders, Head of Global Travel for AFC Ajax met on Wednesday, October 28.

Murkomen said the government will support security, immigration and travel arrangements for the fans.

“I had the pleasure of meeting with the FC Bayern Team led by Mr Andreas Kufner, Head of International Activations and Tours and the AFC Ajax Team led by Sascha Smulders, Head of Global Travel. I thanked them for having selected Africa as the venue for this historic match. Our government will provide full support to ensure there is adequate security, immigration and travel facilitation for their fans from across the globe,” he said.

The meetings follow President William Ruto’s televised speech declaring the two European teams will play in the first match at the new stadium on January 5. The highly anticipated match will put Kenya, who will co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Uganda and Tanzania, under the limelight.

The match will officially open the Raila Odinga International Stadium, previously known as Talanta Stadium, which can seat 60,000 fans. Ruto said on Wednesday evening the match was an incredible milestone for sports development in Kenya.

“Two years ago I promised the people of Kenya a world class stadium that would attract the best teams in the world. Today we are delivering,” he said.

Both teams have confirmed they will attend the match. Bayern Munich said they will be travelling to Nairobi to open the stadium. Ajax said it was an honour to be invited to the match. It will also give both teams the chance to engage with their fans in Africa.

More information on the match will be released by the clubs, however Bayern Munich said tickets will be available from November 5, according to their Bundesliga announcement.

The meeting with the clubs follows preparations to welcome local fans.

Murkomen’s ministry handles national security and immigration so will play a key role in welcoming the international fans. He said the government will support the event however did not specify any security measures, staff numbers, traffic plans or immigration arrangements.

This will be important to ensure the teams can access the stadium and manage the crowds.

The government has not given an official estimate of how many international fans will attend. This will likely depend on how many tickets are sold and how the teams travel, with organisers, clubs and the government of Kenya working together.

The stadium is a key part of Kenya’s AFCON 2027 preparations. Kenya will be co-hosting the tournament with Uganda and Tanzania from June 19 to July 17, 2027.

The continent-wide tournament will bring national teams, officials, media and fans to East Africa. Hosting this match will give them the opportunity to host an international match in the new stadium.

The stadium will officially open with a hybrid pitch, video assistant referee, goal line technology and 52 sky boxes. The January match will be the official opening of the stadium and an international football match.

The government’s main focus will be to ensure security, travel facilitation and logistics are in place before the teams arrive. However, there is little detail on how they will operate.

“This is an important occasion for Kenya and the region. We will support efforts to ensure this event runs smoothly. The match on January 5 will be the first time the new stadium will host an international football match,” said Murkomen.