NAIROBI, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Football Kenya Federation (FKF) jointly with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports are in the process of submitting a bid to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations as well as the 2015 Africa Youth Championships.

"After the opening of bids by CAF for the above mentioned tournaments, football Kenya has been seeking government guarantees to solidify the bid as required by the African Football Governing body"

"We can now confirm that the Government through the Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports has given us a green light to bid for the said Championships," a statement from the federation stated on Saturday.

"The bid boost has been given a shot in the arm by the recent visit to the country by Bernard Mfubusa from Rwanda whose mission was to inspect our existing stadia and hotels," it added.

Kenya already has two existing FIFA/CAF approved stadiums namely Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani and the Nyayo National Stadium.

The Moi Stadium in Kisumu and Mombasa Municipal Stadium have been earmarked for upgrading to support the bid.

Kenya was chosen to host the 1996 Nations Cup before the nation withdrew as CAF sanctioned the country from their competitions for two years.

Earlier in the week, the Democratic Republic of Congo submitted their intention to host the 2019 Nations Cup.

"With the networks we have established, we believe we stand a good chance of getting these events," FKF enthused.