Mbuji-Mayi/Sports infrastructure: CAF experts visit Kashala Bonzola Stadium

Mbuji-Mayi, January 26^th, 2026 (CPA).- An expert from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on sports infrastructure has described, on Monday, his inspection visit to Kashala Stadium in Mbuji-Mayi, in eastern Kasai, in the centre of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as an assessment of the site’s condition.  ‘This mission is exclusively for technical purposes. It aims to assess the conditions for organising matches, formulate concrete proposals and provide recommendations that could effectively remedy the current situation at Kashala Bonzola Stadium,’ has declared Emmanuel Kande, CAF technical expert on sports infrastructure. In this regard, he has outlined what his approach has consisted of. ‘The first phase of the work focuses primarily on the playing area, which is fundamental to the laws of football. Without a compliant, safe playing area that meets international standards, no official match can be played, regardless of the quality of the other facilities.’  According to Emmanuel Kande, his mission is to carry out a thorough technical inspection and assessment of the condition of the platform, the base layers, the drainage system and the synthetic turf, and ultimately to formulate clear, strict and precise recommendations that will be forwarded to the provincial authority within the required timeframe. As a reminder, the Kashala Bonzola stadium was given a facelift in 2018 after its rehabilitation by the former governor of Kasai Oriental province, Ngoy Kasanji. Today, the site has completely lost its lustre.