How Cranes game ended up in Egypt

The next round of Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2023 qualification fixtures will be in June and September.

But it is not clear whether the Mandela National stadium in Namboole will be ready for use to the Uganda Cranes by then. In case Namboole is not yet ready, the Cranes, who played their most recent home game against Tanzania at the Suez Canal Authority stadium in Ismailia, Egypt, could actually find themselves there again.

It is an embarrassment that Uganda has no standard stadium to host Afcon 2023 qualifiers, and leaves many questions. However, the overriding issue among the general public was the choice of Egypt as the most convenient venue.

Ahmed Hussein, the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) publicist, said that around the East African region, only Tanzania had a stadium approved for use by the Confederation of African Football (Caf ).

He added, that since Tanzania were Uganda’s direct opponents, playing there instead of Egypt would have given them a lot of advantage, which coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic would have frowned at.

Yet, questions were still abound on whether it would not have made economic sense for Fufa, to have the home game in Tanzania, and at least have more fans and, therefore, gate collection. For Fufa to add to its coffers would ordinarily benefit Ugandan football even in the event the Cranes lost to Tanzania like they did 0-1 in Egypt on March 24.

However, Hussein argued, Fufa’s first priority is the possibility of getting a result, followed by safety and security for all, including fans. The economics of the game, and whatever benefits that come from ticket sales is ranked number three, according to Hussein. But with the consideration that Rwanda host Benin in Kigali at the Pele stadium today, March 29, Fufa critics feel that beyond Tanzania, there was even a nearer option.

It has been alleged hat Moses Magogo, the Fufa boss, decided the Cranes play in Egypt for some material gain. Magogo did not respond to our queries on the matter but Hussein dismissed such claims. “Before the end of February, we had to confirm to Caf where we were going to play our game. At the time, Rwanda’s stadia had not been approved,” Hussein stated.

Notably, a communication from Caf on March 21 declared Rwanda’s new stadium in Huye ineligible to host an Afcon qualifier.

Yet, by the end of February, Caf had approved it, following the hosting of Caf club games there. In their latest communication, which appeared bizarre, Caf alluded to the fact that Huye international stadium could not host Rwanda v Benin because the district did not have four-star hotels, as is required as a standard.

Such were the complaints of Benin, whose forward team that had travelled to Rwanda to make hotel bookings in Huye, made. But after appeal from Oliver Mugabo, the boss of Rwanda football, they were allowed to play at the Pele stadium, formerly Nyamirambo, in Kigali. But on condition that it is behind closed doors. No fans.

This points to one thing that the Pele stadium is also not yet ready as per Café’s standards to have fans. Against that, it was always going to be difficult for Fufa t host Tanzania in Rwanda under a cloud of uncertainty. In fact, by February 9, 2023, 24 of the 54 African confederations were not eligible to host any Afcon qualifiers on match-day three and four.

Egypt, where Uganda chose to play, had six approved stadia while South Africa had eight. Algeria and Morocco had five while Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea had four and three stadia respectively. Nigeria and Zambia had two. That begged the question as to why Zambia, which is nearer to Uganda and possibly cheaper, was not considered.

Hussein said Zambia had their national team and under-23 team both in action at home last week. It is for a fact that Zambia hosted Lesotho on March 23 while their under-23 team played Egypt on Sunday, March 26. But maybe Fufa did not pay attention to the fact that both games were played at the Levi Mwanawasa stadium in Ndola.

The National Heroes stadium in Lusaka was available. Besides that, so many Ugandans are troubled by the fact that the St Mary’s stadium in Kitende has been hosting Caf club games lately. It has been suggested that Fufa dropped Kitende on purpose. But the rules of club games and national teams according to Caf are different.

On of the soft regulations stipulates that there should be a dedicated parking lot for visiting fans at the stadium, which has never been distinguished at Kitende.

In addition, visiting spectators have got to have distinct entry and exit points for their safety. Some of the entry and exit points at Kitende are from within St Mary’s SS. All spectator sections have got to have exclusive refreshment and catering facilities. That is just a bit of the many Caf stadium regulations released in 2022.