Last week, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, in a joint bid, won the rights to host the continental football masterpiece, the AFCON 2027.
It is the first time three countries will stage the premier sports event in the continent after Ghana/Nigeria (2000) and Equatorial Guinea/Gabon (2012) co-hosted previous editions.
The trio won a contest involving Botswana, Egypt and Senegal after favourites Algeria withdrew on the eve of the vote, saying they had a “new strategy for developing football.”
The excitement writ large on the faces of the administrators, gasping at a chance of fronting the marvel that is Uganda, and of course, the wisecrackers on X/Twitter took the whole win for the spin.
The online conversation drew spite from those without sarcasm, but the messages on X/Twitter came from a point of knowledge, worry and concern. We have been here before. Ugandans love exciting, shiny new toys. We’re like toddlers. You see what the online community is worried about when you read between the lines.
Sports facilities in Uganda are a white elephant. To break it down for you, a white elephant is something that costs a lot of money but has no useful purpose. Uganda has had many of those. Projects start out innocent and are meant for a good purpose, but once the money for the execution is disbursed – the project vanishes. It ends up costing the taxpayer a lot of money and not even getting off the ground to provide value.
In good faith, the Pamoja bid win comes at a time when the President has brokered a deal for the refurbishment of Lugogo and the establishment of a world-class sports facility. That is all good, but you must worry about Uganda’s track record.
While providing an extended report on Uganda’s readiness to host the continental showpiece in July, FUFA President Eng Moses Magogo listed Mandela National Stadium – Namboole (under renovation), Akii Bua Stadium (Lira) and a stadium in Hoima (Proposed for construction) as the three stadia at which the games would be played.
Preliminary work on the Akii Bua stadium in February 2009 after President Museveni promised a state-of-the-art sports facility in Lira district. Thereafter, the government released 600M for needs assessment and preliminary works, and only a toilet and pavilion stand were constructed in two years.
In 2020, MS Habitat Consultants embarked on a feasibility study ahead of the proposed construction of Akii-Bua Stadium in Lira district led by then Sports State Minister Denis Hamson Obua. The 90-day exercise would cost UGX 424 million. In 2019, the government had turned to a Chinese Construction company to finish the stadium. State Minister for Finance Amos Lugolobi said the Chinese government on 30th- March- 2023 announced at the Forum for China Africa Cooperation in Dakar, Senegal, that it would not finance Akii Bua and Buhinga stadium construction. There isn’t a single solid lead on when the construction will start or if it will actually start.
Take 2 – Mandela National Stadium: For the fear of shame, the Namboole Stadium can be ready in time. Though, it needs a massive facelift and plastic surgery. Renovations of the stadium kicked off in January 2022, nearly two years after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) blacklisted the stadium from hosting because it was substandard.
The renovation that the UPDF Engineering Brigade is undertaking was meant to be done by June 2023, according to Lt. Col. Peter Kidemuka, the Project Engineer. In July, Minister of Sports & First Lady Janet Museveni granted the project an extension and the renovations would be done by November 30th.
In 2018, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni presided over the official ground-breaking ceremony for the Buhinga Stadium. The works, just like Namboole, were tasked to the UPDF Engineering Brigade. After two years, only the perimeter wall was to show of the construction progress. The grass was overly grown, and locals turned it into a grazing field.
In January 2022, the construction of the Buhinga stadium in Kabarole and Fort Portal City was re-commenced with a feasibility study and environmental assessment set to undergo 90 days and would cost UGX 568M. On 30th March 2023, it was reported that the Chinese government would not continue this project.
Therein lies Uganda’s biggest problem. We are big on selling dreams, and when they turn out humongous, we run ti feasibility studies and lose a lot of money while at it.
The track record leaves a lot to be desired, and the uncertainties of hosts in the past decade don’t help.
Did you know that for the past twelve years, the AFCON has been hosted by different countries from those who won the official bid? Libya was supposed to host the 2013 AFCON, but South Africa eventually hosted the competition because of the civil war that happened in the country at that time. Morocco was awarded host of the 2015 AFCON, but due to the Ebola outbreak, it was eventually hosted by Equatorial Guinea. The 2017 AFCON was initially given to South Africa. But, they had had an arrangement with Libya, with the latter to take on the hosting privileges. However, there was still instability in the country. Eventually, Gabon hosted the games. Cameroon was to host the 2019 AFCON, but their projects still needed to be completed by then, and Egypt stepped in to host the 2019 AFCON. The 2021 AFCON was for Ivory Coast to host, but because Cameron couldn’t host the 2019 edition, the former agreed to give them the 2021 edition, meaning they would host the next edition. The 2023 AFCON was for Guinea, but because of the agreement, Ivory Coast will be hosting (played in 2024 due to the changes of dates of the World Cup in 2022). Guinea went for the 2025 games, but their projects stalled, and the hosting rights were awarded to Morocco.
Maybe Uganda is playing a long game with the Pamoja bid. Maybe not. Only time will tell.
