Nairobi — An innovative insurance company has started a savings package that allows Kenyans to save towards tickets and accommodation for the 2010 World cup in South Africa.

The organising committee is already selling tickets online. The stadiums are ready, and the audience, globally, is feasting their football appetites on the current World Cup, with an eye on the next one.

So how does Kenya get in on the act? As a co-host to the 2003 Cricket World Cup - alongside Zimbabwe and South Africa - Kenya hosted a number of teams in Nairobi. The big sporting nations are big spenders.

The benefits that accrued from the cricket world cup were huge, but they pale in comparison to what would happen if Kenya succeeded in luring two or three big football sides to spend their 2010 World Cup acclimatisation season in Kenya before heading south.

When Brazil held their training camps in some sleepy Swiss town prior to the current tournament, the 25,000 tickets on offer were sold out long before the actual training began. The resultant exposure for the town and its facilities was amazing: the media descended on the hamlet in full force, and there was nary a spare hotel room to be had.

The hotels even auctioned the rights to sleep in the same beds as the Brazilian stars - after the latter had left, of course - to some fanatical supporters. If that is not advertisement for serious tourism, what is?

But there are some basics that need to be in place before such situations can even be contemplated for Kenya. World class football teams don't just train anywhere. There are conditions that must be met before Ronaldinho and co. agree to spend the month of May, 2010, in, say, Mombasa.

First, the football pitches. Ours are probably the worst in the region. From unkempt grassy grounds to broken stand seats, to a general air of neglect, our stadiums would win hands down in "the most decrepit facilities" category of just about any competition.

Even though the ministry in charge appointed a board to take charge of stadiums and ensure they are kept in shape, their mandate is hampered by the prevailing conditions of the facilities themselves.

Nyayo stadium is a mess. Kasarani is in worse condition. Mombasa's Municipal stadium is in terrible state, and there are few public arenas worth speaking of in other towns. And the roads leading to these facilities are, as is the case everywhere else in the country bar State House, littered with potholes.

Security at the facilities is hopeless: many would love to watch live football, but they stay home because they cannot find secure parking for their vehicles, be these bicycles or sports SUVs.

Those who can find parking space still don't go, some because there is little security inside the stadiums.

There is little doubt that private management is the best way to ensure a facility remains in top condition for hosting sports events. The ministry needs to spruce up two or three facilities in Nairobi and Mombasa and then hand their management over to private organisations with an interest in sports.

KAAA, for example, could get management oversight for Nyayo Stadium (and, one hopes, their first decision would be to ban the holding of national celebrations in the much-abused stadium).

The benefits of private management are clear: the RFUEA ground on Ngong road in Nairobi is one of the best-managed and safest in the country.

A similar approach to football grounds management should see the stadiums in good condition, so that they become an advantage when Kenya approaches the world's major footballing nations to stop here en route to SA 2010.

Then there is security. In 2003, New Zealand declined to play their allotted Kenya-based cricket matches, citing concerns about security. This was unfair but understandable, given the worries resulting from the 1998 terrorist attacks.

But these attacks will be old hat come 2010, and the emphasis should be on burnishing the country's security reputation as the year approaches. Security incidents such as those witnessed recently at one of our airports must be dealt with firmly.

Reputations spread, and it would be important that, as we approach the tournament in 2010, ours is as good as can be. For we stand to reap twofold: from the teams and their hangers-on heading for South Africa, and also from the returning parties. Only one side will win that World Cup, and the rest of the teams - and their disgruntled fans - will need a place to drown their cumulative sorrows.

(*) Mr Wanyonyi is a computer programmer when not watching football.