The President of the Federation of Uganda Football Federations (FUFA) has revealed that the country currently has no certified stadia to host international matches.
Moses Hassim, who is also the Member of Parliament for Budiope East in Buyende District, told the Ugandan parliament on Tuesday that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has not certified both the Namboole National Stadium and Nakivubo Stadium to stage international matches.
“When CAF conducted the inspection, it was found impractical for a football match to take place in the Namboole Stadium because of the incomplete works,” disclosed Magogo.
“Also, the reconstructed Nakivubo Stadium by a private businessman does not meet certain requirements, and CAF’s inspection says it cannot host an international match."
“Our appeal to CAF is to exercise its executive power and allow us to complete the necessary work, and conduct another inspection, thus giving us a chance to host our games at home in June,” Magogo noted.
CAF has outlined several areas for improvement at the Namboole National Stadium, including enhancements to the lighting, technical bench, media tribunal, dressing rooms, and the stadium clock.
Peter Ogwang, the state minister for sports in Uganda, emphasized that contractors at Namboole have been instructed to expedite their work to enable a new CAF inspection. The aim is to have the stadium ready to host matches as soon as June this year.
Uganda, who last played an official match at Namboole National Stadium in 2019, is set to host qualifiers for the World Cup 2026 in June. Namboole National Stadium, located approximately 12km from Kampala City, was officially inaugurated in 1997.
