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Kenya’s new football landmark is set for a grand European unveiling, with perennial Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and Dutch heavyweights Ajax scheduled to face off at Raila Odinga International Stadium on January 5, 2027.
President William Ruto announced the exhibition match through his official media channels while attending the Third Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in Moscow, Russia, describing the fixture as a huge moment for a facility once considered beyond the country’s reach.
“What was once called impossible has a name, an address and 60,000 seats,” Ruto said.
The exhibition match will offer Kenyan fans an opportunity to watch two of Europe’s most decorated clubs on home soil, while placing the new stadium on the international football map ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). The two clubs also confirmed the fixture on ther social media channels.
Ruto linked the choice of the Bavarian giants to the legacy of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, whose name the stadium bears. Odinga studied in Germany and was a known football enthusiast.
“Raila loved football, stood on the stands, cheered with the people. It is only fitting therefore that this stadium carries his name,” the President acknowledged.
He described the meeting between Bayern and the Eredivisie outfit as carrying a special symbolism, pointing to Raila’s connection with Germany and the dutch club's known reputation for developing young players through its academy system.
“There’s a quiet poetry in this fixture. Raila studied in Germany and now a great German club will come to a house that bears his name. Ajax built its greatness on young talent, nurtured in an academy that in its name is ‘the future’,” he explained.
Ruto revealed the match will be delivered through corporate partnerships and a ‘self-sustaining commercial model’, arguing that major sporting events could attract private investment and generate revenue rather than rely entirely on public funding.
The President concluded by hoping the stadium will help create jobs, stimulate tourism and give young Kenyan athletes access to a facility worthy of their ambitions.
“It is a statement of who we are and most importantly, who we are becoming,” he said.
Located at Jamhuri Sports Complex along Ngong Road in Nairobi, the 60,000-seat stadium has been developed as a football- and rugby-specific venue, with two additional training pitches, parking facilities and a five-level structure. Its design incorporates a large roof canopy, while the wider sports complex is intended to support training and other sporting activities. The venue is among Kenya’s key infrastructure projects for co-hosting AFCON 2027 alongside Uganda and Tanzania.
For Bayern, the trip could bring one of football’s biggest current attractions to Nairobi. England captain Harry Kane, who plays for the German giants, won the 2026 Ballon d’Or on Monday, becoming the first Englishman to claim the men’s award since Michael Owen in 2001. His presence would add considerable coverage and appeal to the fixture. Benni McCarthy’s two-year spell at Ajax between 1997 and 1999 offers a compelling Kenyan connection to the clash as well, with the Harambee Stars coach having won the Dutch league title and two KNVB Cups during his time in Amsterdam.
The showdown could also bring some of European football’s biggest current names to Nairobi, with Bayern boasting the likes of Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala and Luis Díaz, although the travelling squads have yet to be confirmed.
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UTILITIES: Raila Odinga International Stadium key features
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