David GOMBE
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania last week won the bid to Co-host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2027.
The trio won a contest also involving Botswana and Senegal with favorites Algeria withdrew.
Amidst the challenges in sports infrastructure such as Stadiums, Uganda is expected to pay $30million (Shs112 bn) to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as hosting fee before February, 2025.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa who led the Ugandan delegation at the time the three nations won the bid in Cairo is optimistic they will get the needed money.
Tayebwa who presided over the Plenary sitting on Tuesday stated,
“We shall work closely with the Ministry of Education and Sports to ensure that money is provided; some countries have taken the opportunity [to host] and ended up failing and we do not want to embarrass other countries in the region,” he said.
State Minister of Sports Peter Ogwang remains confident that Pamoja will succeed
“Pamoja will not fail and we will make sure it succeed. We have a plan to construct regional stadia and all we have to do is to walk the talk; give us money when we come [to Parliament]. We also need to have a Sports Fund and also consider taxing these betting companies to raise money to fund sports facilities,” Ogwang said.
FUFA President Moses Magogo also the legislator of Budiope believe construction of stadiums should be under one provider
“Construction of stadia must be managed under a turkey project where you get one provider like the one for the indoor stadium in Lugogo. This same provider (Summa) did the stadium in Senegal in 17months and all they need is sovereign guarantee,” he said.
This will be the first time the biggest soccer event on the continent will be staged by three countries after Ghana/Nigeria (2000) and Equatorial Guinea/Gabon (2012) co-hosted previous editions.
The last time an East African Member Association hosted the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations tournament was in 1976 in Ethiopia.
