It's the worst-kept secret that Uganda is experiencing a stadium crisis. Because of that, the government of Uganda is in a race against time to have the country's only national stadium available to host.
It's the worst-kept secret that Uganda is experiencing a stadium crisis. Because of that, the government of Uganda is in a race against time to have the country's only national stadium available to host.
All this is ahead of the Uganda Cranes' next crucial AFCON 2023 qualifier against Algeria on June 12.
In an embarrassing scenario, the Cranes, for the first time in a while, hosted a home qualifier, going on to lose 1-0 to Tanzania at the Suez stadium in Egypt on March 24, 2023.
With coach Multin Sredejovic's side having won the reverse fixture 1-0 in Dar-es-Salaam, the pressure to have the Mandela National stadium available for the date against Algeria is on.
Peter Ogwang, the Minister of State for Sports, recently shared updates on the ongoing renovation works at the stadium on his official Twitter handle.
Namboole stadium has, for over the last two decades, been home to the Cranes, hosting all FIFA World cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers until March 2021.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF), based on a report from its inspection team, recommended a total renovation of the sports stadium because it lacked several required amenities like the playing surface, toilets, pavilion and dressing rooms.
Consequently, the government allocated Ugx 97B for the stadium renovation, but Parliament only approved a Ugx 67B supplementary budget in January 2023.
The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) engineering brigade is overseeing the renovations that began with the perimeter wall construction phase.
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21:42 - 30.03.2023
FOOTBALL Minister Ogwang assures Uganda, Namboole will be ready
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Ogwang reiterated what he had earlier tweeted about, stating that the current redevelopment works at Namboole will be completed by June 1.
RENOVATING IN PHASES.
By the end of January 2023, Lt. Col. Peter Kidemuka, the project Engineer, confirmed that the wall, whose construction cost Ugx 3.8 billion, only awaited a handed over as the engineers.
Phase two of the renovations included working on the plumbing equipment and repairing the pitch, pavilion, and dressing rooms.
The installation of desks and air conditioners in the media and VIP sections, seats in the general public stands, and upgrading floodlights as directed by CAF are also required.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
On February 2, 2023, Peter Ogwang, Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) president Moses Magogo and the UPDF engineers toured the facility with the playing surface, seats and lights still being put in place.
Images of the stadium drainage also being worked on didn't help matters.
The 45,202-seating capacity stadium is also supposed to have plastic seats installed in the ordinary, VIP and media tribune sections.
However, in as much the playing surface, fitted seats and flood lights don't seem ready for now, the renovation works, especially in the dressing rooms, are on track, at least according to Moses Magogo.
"One of the requirements by CAF for a stadium to host international games is having four dressing rooms,"
"I have seen that at Namboole, so hopefully, it's ready by June 16," Magogo noted during a press briefing about national teams on Thursday.
It is possible to have namboole ready;
Steven Lameck Ssemugooma, a quantity surveyor who mainly majors in costing, planning and monitoring of resource utilization, believe Namboole can be ready in time.
"It's possible to have the stadium ready by June 12, 2023, but that has to go down to good planning, available resources and doubling the efforts," he noted.
"They have to deploy separate teams to sort the different pending renovations because most of them are not interlinked."
"You can lay the turf while others fix the lights as others furnish the dressing rooms," Ssemugooma added.
Ugandan football fans will hold their breath at least until early June to know if the stadium will be ready to host the desert foxes, who have already sealed their spot in the 2023 AFCON tournament.
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