Billions Government Will Splash on AFCON 2027 Training Grounds in Kampala

After CAF officials inspected AFCON 2027 facilities in Uganda, the cost of upgrading training grounds in Kampala has been revealed.

With the 2027 Pamoja Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) officially confirmed for East Africa, Uganda is ramping up efforts to prepare its facilities, with a significant portion of the budget allocated to training grounds in Kampala.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Patrice Motsepe, recently affirmed that Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will jointly host the continent's premier football tournament, dispelling any doubts and putting the local organising committees under pressure to meet deadlines.

Following the announcement, a delegation of CAF technical experts arrived in Uganda for a two-day inspection of the proposed venues. The primary focus was on Namboole Stadium in Kampala and the new Hoima City Stadium, along with their designated training facilities.

Dennis Mugimba, the executive chairperson for communications and signage on Uganda's Local Organising Committee (LoC), explained the purpose of the visit.

What Were the CAF Inspectors Looking at?

"At this level, they are looking for identification of these facilities, safety, accessibility—those general standards," he said as quoted by the Daily Monitor. "They are not looking at the readiness of the pitches. Now, for the stadia, is our readiness meeting their standards? But of course, we know that it does because we worked with them all the way."

Each host stadium for the tournament is required to have four associated training pitches. While Namboole Stadium itself is set for renovations to its VIP and VVIP sections, work is also needed on its supporting grounds.

Of the required four pitches for the Kampala hub, the Namboole outside pitch and the Kyambogo University ground are considered ready. However, significant upgrades are planned for the facilities at Makerere University and the FUFA Kadiba Stadium.

The government has committed funds for these projects within the current financial year, which ends on June 30. "We have already handed over the architectural designs to Makerere," Mugimba confirmed.

Cost of Upgrading Training Grounds Revealed

The project at Makerere University is valued at UGX21.8 billion and will include a complete overhaul of the football and rugby pitch, a new running track, a 1,700-seater pavilion, modern dressing rooms, and floodlights. Meanwhile, upgrading the pitch quality at Kadiba is estimated to cost UGX5.2 billion, bringing the total for the two Kampala training venues to UGX27 billion.

"The good news is that the training facilities and scope of work is not as intensive as constructing stadiums," Mugimba noted. "The major efforts will be on the pitch to ensure that we have a pitch that meets international standards."

In Hoima, only the stadium's primary training pitch is ready. Works are still pending at the selected grounds of Hoima Boma, Masindi Municipal, and Sir Tito Winyi.

The CAF experts will also provide guidance on the extent of renovations needed at Namboole, considering the tournament is just over two years away. "They may have to advise us on re-scoping to ensure that what we take on... ideally we do not want to get into January-February next year still remodeling Namboole," Mugimba added.

In addition to assessing the facilities, the inspectors evaluated safety and accessibility, mapping out potential travel routes from team hotels to the various training grounds in both Kampala and Hoima.

AFCON 2027 - Proposed Ugandan Host Venues

Hoima: Hoima Sports Stadium (Capacity: 20,000)

Lira: Akii-Bua Stadium (Capacity: 20,000)

Kampala: Namboole Stadium (Capacity: 42,000)