Making sense of Uganda’s joint bid for the 2027 Afcon

Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania have expressed interest in hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

The three East African countries have until May 23, 2023, to officially submit their bid to the Confederation of African Football (Caf). Algeria, Egypt and Botswana will also submit their individual bids and the continental body is expected to announce the successful bidder in September.

Incidentally, none of the three East African countries have ever hosted the event and this might be the reason why it took many Ugandans by surprise when Fufa announced Uganda’s intention to bid for the 2027 edition.

Apart from Fufa’s intent about the joint bid, it remains to be seen whether government will back the federation. As for Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, they seem to be set for the event. Recently, Kenya’s sports minister, Ababu Namwamba, hyped his country’s readiness to support the bid while Tanzania last week convened a meeting of Africa Union sports ministers, and the joint bid was among the items that were discussed.

The most challenging factor before having this prestigious event hosted in the region is the infrastructure, especially the stadiums. A minimum of six stadiums under the Caf and Fifa standards have to be in place. And as we talk today, only Tanzania and Kenya, which have at least one stadium each, can pass this test.

Uganda’s hope lies in Namboole stadium, which is currently under renovation. But since its closure in 2020 for renovation by the UPDF construction brigade progress has been slow while the quality of the work has been questioned by key stakeholders.

The government is expected to spend Shs 97 billion on Namboole, meaning Uganda needs to spend more than seven times that amount to construct another stadium.

Ahead of hosting the 2021 Afcon event, Cameroon spent at least $280m to construct a new 60,000-seater Olembe stadium and another $240m on the 40,000-seater Japom stadium.

I know this is affordable for any government worth its name, but going by the current economic situation, it might be a tall order for the government to invest those millions of dollars in sports facilities that present little return on investment.

The government too has to invest more money in training grounds. As we speak today, all the existing facilities are in a sorry state and thus need to be reconstructed. The road network is also another concern. The road infrastructure needs an overhaul, meaning millions of dollars have to be spent in this area.

Other areas where the country needs more investment are hotels and hospitals; all these need money, which the government seems not to have.

WHEN KENYA MISSED OUT

What all this shows is that hosting a continental event is expensive, which is why a couple of countries have failed to host it after winning bids. Kenya won the bid to host the 1996 Afcon. The government pulled out all the stops to put some of the facilities in place.

But upon inspection, Caf officials found out that the country was behind schedule and awarded the event to South Africa. At the time, Kenya had both Kasarani sports complex and Nyayo stadium in place.

Recently, Kenya again was stripped of the 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) hosting rights for failure to meet the required standards, and the continental body switched the event to Morocco.

Zambia won the bid to host the 1988 event, but it was relocated to Morocco after failing to have the required facilities. Zimbabwe was due to host the 2000 edition, but the Southern African country pulled out after discovering they were behind schedule.

ADVANTAGES

In hosting an event of that calibre, the country benefits from having new stadiums and a couple of renovated sports facilities. The event also helps the country have new roads, hospitals, and hotels in place. The event, which is usually televised globally, helps to develop the tourism industry, among others.

bzziwa@observer.ug