County dossier
Nairobi County
Priority 18 · #14,397,073 people in 2019/5,434,773 today/$34.29bn GDP · $96.3bn PPP
Nairobi Metropolitan Region
Metropolitan population today
12,868,247
10,411,220 in the 2019 census
Times the city county alone
2.37x
5,434,773 in Nairobi County
Share of all Kenyans
21.9%
3,338,879 households
Share of national output
40%
27.5% from the city county alone
| County | 2019 census | Today | Households |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nairobi · core | 4,397,073 | 5,434,773 | 1,506,888 |
| Kiambu | 2,417,735 | 2,988,316 | 795,241 |
| Machakos | 1,421,932 | 1,757,505 | 402,466 |
| Kajiado | 1,117,840 | 1,381,648 | 316,179 |
| Murang'a | 1,056,640 | 1,306,005 | 318,105 |
The city county on its own held 4.40m people in 2019. The Nairobi Metropolitan Region — Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado and Murang'a — held 10.41m in the same census, and scales with the live national estimate to the figure above. The region generates about 40% of national output against the city county's 27.5%, which is why the football market here is regional, not municipal: a Nairobi venue draws from five counties, and the four neighbours are all inside the priority build.
Cost of living here
Rent, mid-range two-bedroom
KSh 35,000
$271 a month
Cost-of-living index
2.31
1.00 is the national baseline
Cost to produce a professional
$311,758
7x cheaper than England
Mid-range two-bedroom monthly rent for this county, estimated from published listings and KNBS urban rent data. Rent carries 30% of the county cost-of-living index, alongside population density and county output at purchasing power parity, and that index prices every wage, catering, schooling and travel line in the academy model here.
Units proposed here
10
5 professional, 3 grassroots lines
Build cost
$14.94m
$1.67m a year to run
Trading income a year
$3.65m
218.2% cost recovery
Annual social and economic value
$23.26m
$1.558 per dollar built
Players reached a year
28,400
424 teams
Permanent jobs
282
1,400 build person-years
Coaching and referee places
876
Badged, paid and county-based
Tax back a year
$1.28m
VAT and PAYE
Programme headquarters. Crown Crane Park modular stadium and arena and the proposed Typhoon Sports Village sit here, alongside two thirds of all league clubs.
Grassroots and recreational
What the community gets
Courts, an upgraded 11-a-side ground and — where the population supports it — a covered arena. $1.37m of build cost, recreational hire income from day one, and the part of the programme that reaches the most people for the least money.
| Project | Units | Step | Build cost | Running cost | Trading income | Jobs | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stackable 5-a-side and futsal courts | 3 | Step 4 | $71,250 | $6,412 | $46,128 | 9 | 7,200 |
| Community 11-a-side pitch upgrades | 1 | Step 4 | $96,000 | $9,600 | $15,000 | 4 | 1,800 |
| Indoor football arenas | 1 | Step 4 | $1.20m | $132,000 | $120,000 | 22 | 12,000 |
Professional
The professional team and its home
Every county in this plan carries one professional pathway and one modular stadium — $13.57m of build cost here. Priority 18 counties get a 10,000–15,000 seat venue; the rest get a 3,000–5,000 seat ground that can grow in stands rather than in concrete.
| Project | Units | Step | Build cost | Running cost | Trading income | Jobs | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National training facility (with regional satellites) | 1 | Step 3 | $6.40m | $832,000 | $1.66m | 95 | 1,200 |
| Regional headquarters and league service hubs | 1 | Step 2 | $666,000 | $106,560 | $110,000 | 18 | 0 |
| County academies and coach education | 1 | Step 5 | $52,800 | $11,616 | $80,000 | 9 | 1,200 |
| Women's and girls' pathway, including the Starlets academy | 1 | Step 6 | $950,000 | $190,000 | $690,000 | 40 | 5,000 |
| Modular professional stadiums (Priority 18) | 1 | Step 7 | $5.50m | $385,000 | $930,000 | 85 | 0 |
Cost per professional
What it costs to produce a player here
Cost of living index
x2.31
Against the national baseline
Per academy player a year
$5,567
Coaching, schooling, food, medical, kit
Per professional produced
$311,758
7x cheaper than England
Commercial ceiling
$462,470
Funds 1.48 professionals a year
Player trading
What its players return
Academy places
888
Funded places on the pathway
Professionals a year
15.9
At full delivery
Trading income a year
$7.07m
Fees, sell-on and solidarity
Return on production cost
1.43x
Per professional produced
Proposed steps
The order it gets built here
This is the money view of the proposed steps for this county: the club base and service hubs first, then courts and pitches, then the academy, with the stadium last — by which point facility income and the first player sales are already arriving.
Health and fitness
Fewer people in hospital here
Players moving weekly
28,400
213,000k active minutes a year
Hospital admissions avoided
114
NCD and respiratory, each year
Sick days recovered
9,656
$561,184 of output
Health and productivity value
$832,688
$29.32 per player
The value case
Where this county's money already goes
Youth aged 15–24
945,112
195,431 in secondary school
Diaspora remittances
$508.45m
Coming into this county a year
Spent on sports betting
KSh 21,344,837,083
Money already inside football
Share of national output
27.72%
9.24% of the population
Every figure here is generated from the units sited in this county. Allocation, costs and returns are evidence-led estimates published for challenge; no site has been surveyed, agreed or contracted.