The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has today April 15, 2024 visited the Mandela National Stadium, also known as Namboole Stadium, to inspect the progress of its ongoing renovations.
While commending the efforts of the UPDF Engineering Brigade, Among acknowledged the recent decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to withhold approval of the stadium, citing issues with the renovation work not meeting their required standards.
“I’m extremely impressed by the UPDF Engineering Brigade for what they’ve done at Namboole Stadium. However, we must address the concerns raised by CAF to ensure the stadium is up to international standards,” Among stated
Her visit comes amidst national disappointment after CAF disapproved the renovations, particularly considering the significant investment.
Ms. Among further praised President Museveni’s dedication to sports, highlighting its unifying power across political and religious divides within Uganda.
“I want to thank the President for his passion for sports. As the Chairperson said, sports is one of the things that unites Ugandans irrespective of their political and religious affiliations,” said the Speaker of Parliament.
It remains to be seen whether the identified shortcomings can be addressed in time to meet CAF’s requirements for hosting upcoming tournaments after the Finance Ministry released the Shs17.7 billion amount to allow the UPDF engineering brigade to finish. The stadium is anticipated to co-host AFCON 2027 with Tanzania and Kenya.