German champions Bayern Munich will play Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam in the first match at the newly built Raila Odinga International Stadium in Nairobi on Tuesday, January 5, 2027. President William Ruto announced the match on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at the stadium. He described it as a historic occasion that will showcase Kenya’s ability to host world-class sporting events.
“This is more than the opening of a stadium. It is a statement of who we are, and most importantly, who we are becoming,” he said. “Kenya is ready to welcome the world, and Africa is ready for greatness.”
The two clubs have won Europe’s top club competition, the European Cup and its successor, the UEFA Champions League, a combined ten times. President Ruto said the fixture was a fitting choice for the stadium, which is named after the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
“There is a quiet poetry in this fixture,” he said. “Raila studied in Germany, and now a great German club will come to play in the house that bears his name.”
He also linked the stadium’s original name, Talanta, to Ajax’s famous youth academy.
“For generations, Ajax built its greatness on young talent, nurtured in an academy whose very name is the future,” the President said. “Talanta means talent. Ajax’s academy is called the future. On January 5, 2027, talent and the future will meet in Nairobi.”
He invited Kenyans to attend the match.
“So come home to Talanta, come home to the Raila Odinga International Stadium,” he said. “Look up at the new sky of Nairobi and see what Kenyans can build when we believe.”
He added that the opening event would be funded through corporate partnerships and a commercially sustainable model.
“We’re not just believers; we are doers. Usawa ni Sawa. Mbele pamoja,” the President said.
The 60,000-seat stadium sits on the Jamhuri Grounds along Ngong Road in Nairobi. It is the country’s first venue built specifically for football and rugby, and its first new international stadium since the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, opened in 1987.
It has a hybrid playing surface, 52 skyboxes, video assistant referee (VAR) facilities and goal-line technology. Formerly known as Talanta Stadium, it is being built by China Road and Bridge Corporation at a cost of about Sh45.85 billion, with construction beginning in March 2024. President Ruto announced plans to rename it in honour of Raila during the Jamhuri Day celebrations on December 12, 2025. Parliamentary updates put construction at about 94 per cent complete.
The stadium is a key part of Kenya’s preparations to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Tanzania and Uganda under the Pamoja bid. It is expected to stage some of the tournament’s biggest matches.
The match against Ajax will be one of the few times a top European club has played in East Africa, and it is expected to draw thousands of fans and boost sports tourism in the country.
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